


The Adventures of Lloyd and his Demon Babysitters

by GrayChameleon



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: A true one and a normal one, Attempt at Humor, Believe it or not there is a plot to this, Demon/Wizard!AU, Depends on who it is, He's a baby to them, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Lloyd's a wizard, Lore - Freeform, Major characters will be added as they show up, Normal is standard wings and horns, Quality of chapters will range from good to just plain shit, Tags will change and be updated, The others are the most powerful demons ever, They can't make up their minds if they wanna be funny or scary, They have more than just their canon powers, They want him to have their uwu's, They're also the funniest demons ever, They're badasses, They've got two basic demon forms, True forms are a bit...weird, Who have to take care of a fledging wizard, also language, and fighting, and terrifying, lots and lots of magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2020-01-11 02:38:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 33,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18421098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrayChameleon/pseuds/GrayChameleon
Summary: Fledgling wizard Lloyd just wanted to summon a simple familiar. Instead, he said the wrong spell and ended up summoning the quartet of inseparable elemental demons who also just so happen to be the most powerful demons ever---Or, the time Lloyd got the best-worst babysitters ever and his life is no longer boring and he goes on a journey of self-discovery featuring his all-powerful and completely badass demon babysitters





	1. Wrong Spell, Wrong Demon...s

Lloyd grabbed his spellbook, double checking that the circle he’d just finished drawing on the floor matched the one in the book. Grinning with satisfaction, Lloyd kneeled down on the floor and found the spell he wanted. He put his hands on the floor, just a few inches away from the exterior circle, and began to read the words aloud.

The circle flared to life in a glowing kaleidoscope of colors, the light growing stronger and brighter as he continued to speak the spell. The temperature began to drop, and he began to shiver, teeth chattering slightly, but he pushed past it. He wanted that familiar and he was gonna get it, damn it.

A swirling vortex opened in the center of the circle, fine grains of black, glittery sand shooting upwards like tendrils. Lloyd finished the spell and looked up into the vortex, eager to see the familiar that he’d summoned. His gaze clashed with a glowing red glare, pupils narrowed like a snake’s. Fire smoldered in the glare that held Lloyd’s stare captive, and he tore his eyes away only to find himself looking up into the gleaming blue gaze of another demon.

Lloyd tried to pull his hands away from the floor, but he found himself rooted to the spot as two more sets of eyes, one white and the other black, pinned him down. He began to panic as he realized that he must have used the wrong spell and summoned the most powerful demons to exist.

The one with red eyes grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp and narrow fangs, a tongue much longer than a human’s rolling out of the demon’s mouth. Saliva as red as blood dripped down it, reaching the narrow tip and and falling off in thick drops, the stone hissing as it melted away as if it was being eaten through by acid.

“ _ Hello, kid, _ ” the demon rasped in a mean-sounding hiss. “ _ You mind releasing us from this circle? _ ”

Lloyd’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he collapsed on his side, passing out.

* * *

Jay sighed as he watched the kid fall to the floor, completely out cold. “Really, Kai? Why. Why would you do that.”

“Do what, ask him nicely for him to release us from this stupid circle?” Kai retorted as he sat back on the floor, tired of being in a crouch. “Kid probably used too much energy summoning us and it was just the final straw.”

“Kai is right, he is just a little fledgling. He most likely did not mean to summon us,” Zane said, his glowing white eyes flicking around the room outside of the circle. “We are not the easiest of demons to call upon, and by doing so has used up a strenuous amount of his magic energy.”

“We know, Zane. It’s not like we haven’t figured that out over the past few millenium,” Cole put in. “This isn’t the first time we’ve accidentally been summoned for one reason or another.”

“Ironically enough, we always seem to have the most fun whenever we’re not supposed to be here,” Jay pointed out cheerfully. “Remember that Chen guy? Boy, he was fun to play with.” He sighed wistfully. “It’s a shame he didn’t last longer than what he did, but that’s what ya get for attempting to make creatures like ourselves personal slaves.” He sang the last two words, draping an arm over Cole’s shoulder.

“We should probably change forms, just so we don’t scare him into passing out again,” the black-eyed demon said, shrugging Jay off. “I mean, we are quite...terrifying, right now.”

The other three nodded, and the four of them spun in circles, forming miniature tornadoes. Whenever Jay stopped, he was a slim human, built like a runner, with short russet hair and a small scar in his right eyebrow, eyes as blue and soft as a late afternoon summer sky.

“When do you think he’s gonna wake up?” Kai asked, tilting his head as he stared at the kid who was still unconscious. “No one’s ever been down for this long before, even if it was an accident.” His red-orange eyes narrowed as he stared at the fledgling, and he raised a hand to make sure that the mass of thick spikes the color of milk chocolate were situated properly. Pointing to them, he turned his head and asked, “Are they situated right? Do they look good?”

Cole snorted as he attempted to flick one spike but ended up hitting Kai’s forehead instead. “They look fine to me. What is with your addiction to these anyways?” he questioned, ignoring Kai’s glare as he rubbed the sore spot on his forehead.

A soft sound stopped Kai from answering, and the four demons turned to look at the fledgling wizard, who was starting to finally come to.

He lifted his head and slowly sat up, blinking his large doe eyes. Jay noticed that the kid’s left eye was emerald green while the right was sun gold, and he looked at his fellow demons quizzically.  Zane caught the look and pointed a finger to his eyes, a silent question being asked, and Jay nodded several times. Zane in turn nodded once, having noticed it too; mismatched eyes was a sign of a powerful being who was not pure wizard, fledgling or not.

“So, let’s try this again, shall we? Hello, hi, would you mind releasing us from this circle? It’s getting awfully cramped in here,” Kai said, but then all emotion slipped off his face as the kid rolled onto his hands and knees and dry heaved multiple times.

“This is the first time you have used this much magic energy, is it not?” Zane asked, shoving Kai to the side so he could take the place closest to the pale and shivering creature on the other side of the still-glowing barrier. He nodded weakly, pulling himself up into a tight ball. It took him a few moments to find his voice, and when he did he croaked out, “I didn’t mean-” He suddenly broke off as a gagging reflex took over, and he coughed to clear his throat once it was over.

“I didn’t mean to summon you four,” the fledgling tried again.

“That is a common thing for us, actually. Most just want a basic, simple familiar but they then use the wrong spell because the similarities between our spell and a basic familiar’s is stupidly similar, so a simple mispronunciation here, the wrong word there, and a few mistakes later, boom. You get us, the most feared and powerful demons of all demons. The demons to rule them all,” Cole said, crouching next to Zane.

“I’m not sure if you’re aware of this, but the longer you keep this barricade up, the more energy it takes from you and the sicker you feel. Do you know how to release the barricade?” Kai questioned, and the kid nodded slowly, dragging himself back to the circle once more. He put his hands on the floor just like he did when summoning them, and mumbled a few words under his breath. The glowing barricade faded away, and the four demons stepped over the drawn circle lines.

“It’ll take a while for your magic energy to return, so until then you’re stuck with us doing a lot of stuff for you, Master,” Jay said, cracking his back.

“Master?” The kid looked up at the blue-eyed demon.

“Well, yeah. You’re the one who summoned us, accident or not, and that makes you our master. We have to listen to you, to obey you. If not, then we suffer some pretty bad things. Is there another name you’d rather us call you by?” Cole asked, hands on his hips as he looked down at the still-shivering kid.

“Lloyd is fine.” He curled up even further, and somewhere in Jay’s hardened demon heart, he felt a bit bad for the kid, looking so pathetic and cold on the stone floor.

“Wh-what are you doing?” Lloyd squawked in alarm as Cole picked him up in his arms. Cole paused and asked, “Would you rather walk out of here and risk passing out again? Because if you would rather that, then that’s okay.”

“N-no! I’m just-”

“Not used to having four incredibly powerful demons as your pets? Yeah, we get that a lot. Don’t worry, Lloyd, you can trust us. We’ll protect you, take care of you, do anything and everything for you. Just relax, give us a quick rundown of this place, and we’ll take it from there,” Kai said as comfortingly as he could, patting Lloyd’s arm as an action of further reassurance. “You have literally the most powerful demons out of all the demons at your disposal. Nothing can go wrong when you have us by your side.”


	2. Caretakers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the comments and kudos; they really made my day :) :D
> 
> And now, onto chapter two

Lloyd spent the next week in bed, feeling like he’d come down with a severe flu. He had a raging fever but claimed he was freezing. More than once he threw up, and it was all he could do to keep water and the occasional cup of hot tea down. He couldn’t sleep, and when he did it was fitful and restless unless Kai was curled around him to soothe the chills despite the high fever. His body ached as if he’d been dragged down a rough, gravel road for hours.

It had been ten days after he’d accidentally summoned the four demons that Lloyd woke up from a deep sleep feeling normal, as if he’d never been sick in the first place. Confused about the sudden change, he asked Cole (who was keeping an eye on him in the absence of the other three) what had happened.

“Like we said when you finally came to, it was your first time using that much magic energy. It takes a toll on you, and it takes time for that energy to recover.”

“But why the sickness? How is that related?” Lloyd pressed as he took a sip of water.

Cole pursed his lips in thought, head tilting slightly to the right. “Zane’s better at explaining this than I am. He’s done more research about it and understands it better. He’s downstairs if you want to go ask him.”

Lloyd nodded and crawled out of bed but almost blacked out after standing up. Cole offered a piggyback ride, which Lloyd accepted. He slung his arms around the demon’s neck and gripped the narrow waist with his knees, never feeling smaller than he did as he clung to the demon’s broad and wide back, like a spider on the trunk of a tree.

“Good to see you outta bed,” Kai commented from the table as he watched Cole set Lloyd down in a chair he’d pulled out using the top of his foot hooked around the leg. “How you feelin’?”

“Like I’m not dying,” Lloyd answered. “Almost passed out three seconds after standing up, but I’m fine otherwise.” He leaned forward and rested his head on his folded forearms, closing his eyes. He overheard Cole tell Zane that he was curious about how being sick was related to the amount of magic energy he’d used, and Zane made a small noise of acknowledgement.

“Let him wake up, first. Then I will tell him,” Zane commented softly. “Did he go back to sleep?”

“I’m still awake,” Lloyd mumbled, voice muffled by the table. “How does this whole ‘being sick’ thing work into using so much magic energy?” He raised his head and looked up at Zane, eyes still half-closed.

Zane poured a cup of tea and set it down in front of Lloyd. “Wizards cannot survive without a certain degree of magic energy existing in them. I assume you already knew that, yes?”

Lloyd nodded. “It’s the first thing all wizards learn. Go past your limit and you’ll die.”

“The illness is a warning from your body that will alert you if you’re in danger of going past that limit. The closer you are to the limit, the more severe the illness will be.”

“But why did it suddenly just go away?” Lloyd pressed.

“You are no longer in any immediate threat of going past that limit. However, it will still take a long time for you to fully regain all of your magic energy, and that is because of multiple factors.”

“Factors? Like what?”

“The fact you’re still a fledgling and it takes for _ ever _ for you pipsqueaks to regain even a tiny amount of energy. And because you’re also a baby. And the first time using so much is always the hardest to recover from because your body is in a state of shock,” Kai answered, looking bored as he toyed with a stray piece of lettuce on his plate. He lifted his fork up and pointed it at Lloyd. “The biggest factor, however, is that you’re not full wizard, are you?”

Lloyd reluctantly shook his head. “My mom was a wizard, my dad human. At least, that’s what my uncle told me.” His mismatched eyes had made him a target for bullies at school, calling him names and mocking him for not being a pure wizard such as themselves. He’d finally made his uncle homeschool him to avoid the bullying, to which his uncle--an incredibly powerful wizard himself--agreed to do so.

Kai sat back in his seat. “There you go, Lloyd, the sickness and why explained.”

Lloyd nodded slowly once before taking a sip of tea. “How long is it going to take for me to fully regain all of my magic energy?”

“It varies from person to person, but it’s not uncommon for it to be a few months to a few years,” Cole said. “It’s usually a year tops, though. I wouldn’t worry too much about it, though. You’ve got us around, so don’t worry about using any of your magic. We’ve got you covered.”

Lloyd smiled weakly as he took another sip of tea, suddenly feeling exhausted. He pushed it out of his mind, though, and instead started on a casual conversation.

Like asking where Jay was.

“He’s patrolling, making sure everything is clear and that there are no enemies. He gets antsy if he stays in one place for too long,” Kai said, still playing with the stray scrap of lettuce on his plate.

“Says the one who gets antsy if he doesn’t fight for an extended period of time,” Cole snorted. Kai scowled at him.

“I was created from bloodstained battlefields. What else did you expect?” the fire demon defended himself. “My very existence is to fight. I don’t hear any of you complaining about that when it’s us against armies.”

“And we are very grateful to you for saving our asses so many times because of your bloodthirsty nature,” Zane joined in on the teasing as he set two pieces of buttered toast before Lloyd. The kid tore into it ravenously, ripping a large piece of it like a carnivore does to freshly killed prey.

“Easy there, you look like some animal,” Kai said as he watched the kid twist his neck and throw his head back, snapping at it until he’d gobbled it up before tearing another chunk out.

Lloyd paused. “What? I’m hungry. Is that illegal or something?” He continued to wolf it down, ignoring the wide-eyed looks he was getting from the three demons.

“You could at least slow down and actually  _ taste _ it,” Cole sighed. “It’s a little disturbing watching you eat like that, not gonna lie.”

Lloyd started to snicker, which resulted in Cole demanding to know what was so funny. In between giggles, Lloyd said, “I just find it a bit funny that the way I’m eating is disturbing a demon who has more than likely seen much worse.”

“Yeah, like me,” Jay said as he padded into the kitchen on quiet feet. “I am one hell of an ugly motherfucker. And Cole, have you  _ seen _ yourself? You’re almost just as disastrous as I am.”

“Does that make Kai and I the pretty ones?” Zane inquired teasingly. Kai struck a dramatic pose, legs being thrown open as he threw his head back, a hand burying itself in his thick spikes as he arched his back in a steep curve.

“Hell yeah, call me pretty,” the fire demon announced just as dramatically as his pose. For a response, he got four eyerolls and a chorus of “No’s”, and Kai slouched in his seat, pouting at the lack of support of his dramatic display as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Is being pretty a crime?” he mumbled, his pout increasing with each passing second. Jay face-palmed as Cole shook his head while Zane closed his eyes and exhaled slowly through his nose.

“Is he always this dramatic?” Lloyd whispered to Jay, who grimaced and answered in a whisper of his own, “This is nothing. It can get so much worse on so many levels.”

“Also, what are you guys talking about? You all look fine,” Lloyd said, glancing around at the four demons. They grimaced and stared accusingly at Jay, who shrugged defensively.

“It’s just a running inside joke we have, that’s all,” the demon said, giving Lloyd a pat on the head before waltzing over to the fridge and rummaging through it. “Rice pudding!” He pulled it out and thrust it into the air with a triumphant “Fuck yeah!” before doing a wiggle over to the drawer where the spoons were stored. He opened the container and dug in, letting out moans with every bite.

“Don’t lewd the rice pudding, Jay,” Cole said as he watched him, disapproval shining in the dark eyes of the muscular demon. That only fueled Jay to moan even louder, and it eventually drove Lloyd out of the kitchen and outside, legs still a bit shaky but strong enough to carry him with the added support of walls and nearby furniture.  


The sun blinded him for a few moments, but he basked in its warmth, allowing it to seep into his skin. A gentle breeze drifted across the front porch, caressing him and lightly carding its wispy fingers through his messy hair, brushing his bangs to the side of his forehead. He’d missed being outside, and after being inside for so long in bed with the flu, it felt refreshingly nice to be outside.

He hopped down the five steps, clinging to the rail as he saw spots dance across his vision. He stayed there until his vision cleared and he felt like he could walk on his own. He had taken only a few steps before he heard a stampede behind him. He glanced over his shoulder to see Kai shove his way past Cole and Zane, almost tripping down the stairs in his haste to be the first one by Lloyd’s side.

“So, how did the four of you get stuck together to all be summoned at the same time instead of individually?” Lloyd asked as him and his four demons started walking down the road, their feet crunching against the gravel with each step.

“We were created in such a short time of each other that we just...” Jay began in an attempt to explain. He sighed and took a moment to think about what he was going to say, and then carefully continued with, “Demons who are created by the same person within a certain time limit, like hours for example, are considered to be made together and therefore inseparable. Then there’s the case of our golden weapons which are linked together as well. It’s a bit weird trying to explain all the details because there's so much to it, so most times we just say we were created at the same time and we typically just leave it at that. We’re bonded because we share the same creator; his blood runs through our veins and his power through our weapons. And that’s basically it.” A moment of silence. "I guess."  


"Your creator is your dad which makes you four brothers, so because of that it's a four-in-one packaged deal when being summoned," Lloyd summarized. He paused for a moment, brow furrowed slightly. "Did I get that right?"

The demons went quiet, thinking about how easy Lloyd put it. They then all nodded their heads, saying things like "Yeah" and "That's basically it" to confirm it.

“Then there’s the bond we have  _ because _ we were created like that. We even have tattoos to further strengthen the bond. Through it we know exactly where the others are at, what they’re feeling, hell, we can even communicate telepathically through it. It’s quite convenient, really, especially in battle. We just instinctually know where the others are at any given moment,” Kai elaborated. “Sure, we’re hella powerful on our own, but the four of us combined?” He let out a low whistle and then busted out a few moves, almost hitting Lloyd in the face with a stray hand. Cole steered Lloyd to his other side so that the kid was in between Cole and Zane, safe from Kai’s flailing limbs.

“We are a force to be-hey, where’d he go?” Kai broke off, realizing Lloyd was no longer next to him. Lloyd poked his head out from behind Cole and stared up at Kai, saying, “You almost hit me in the face.”

“I am so sorry!” Kai wailed dramatically, and his brothers sighed as the fire demon started going on an elaborate apologetic rant, their reactions similar to the ones they’d made earlier in the kitchen when he’d made his dramatic display.

At one point, Lloyd’s legs grew too tired and he took Cole’s offer of a piggyback ride, climbing onto the demon’s broad back and wrapping his arms around his neck and thighs gripping his waist. With the warmth of the sun and the slow, even movements of Cole’s gait, Lloyd soon found himself drifting off to sleep, secure in the hands of the earth demon and watched over by the other three.

Cole, unaware of this, noticed that Zane leaned in close, checking on Lloyd. “Is he okay?” Cole asked, shifting the kid on his back.

“He’s asleep. Even though he is no longer sick, he is still very weak. He needs all the rest he can get,” Zane answered. Kai and Jay crowded closer, cooing over how cute Lloyd looked while sleeping, the sunlight making his hair glow like freshly cleaned gold and adding an extra splash of color to his honey-like skin.

“He’s so pretty that it lowkey makes me mad. Who allowed him to be this pretty?” Kai said as he lightly ran his finger down the kid’s slim nose. It twitched and he shifted slightly but soon relaxed once more.

“Hey, don’t touch him when he’s sleeping,” Jay hissed as he batted Kai’s hand away. “You heard Zane, he needs as much sleep as possible, and that sleep is better left undisturbed. We want him getting his magic energy back as soon as possible, right?”

“About that, it’s going to take maybe a year at the most. We just gotta step our game up so he doesn’t have to use up what little he does have left or what he’s regained.” He sighed and shifted the kid once more. “Give me a choice between being a demon or a wizard, and I’ll choose demon any day. This waiting for magic energy to be regained is bullshit if you ask me.”

“No one did,” Kai deadpanned, and Cole scowled at him and then suggested that they turn back so that they could get Lloyd back home before he woke up from his nap. They’d been informed by him when he was still laid up that after a nap he needed a snack and a juice box otherwise he’d be cranky for the rest of the day, and they weren’t too keen on learning what it meant when he was cranky.

They reached the house and Cole settled the kid on a couch, drawing a blanket over him. Lloyd shifted and then buried his face into the pillow, still sleeping heavily.

“He’s so fucking cute,” Jay said softly as he watched the kid sleep with gentle eyes as he set a juice box and a small thing of crackers down on the side table next to the couch within easy reach of Lloyd. “Out of all of our masters, he’s gotta be the prettiest.” He sighed dreamily, resisting the urge to cuddle the fledgling.

Lloyd woke up thirty minutes later, eyes bleary with sleep as he yawned and stretched. The lines on his arms were signs of a good nap, and he reached for the juice box. Poking the straw through the hole at the top, he began draining it, still too sleepy to realize that Jay and Kai had both turned around and clutched their hearts as they mouthed “He’s so cute” to each other and that Cole had a fond smile on his face. Even the usually stoic Zane managed to show traces of soft emotion, and went to get the now-empty juice box from the fledgling.

Lloyd batted the hand away, letting out a sleepy protest as he insisted on keeping it. Zane tried again, this time by attempting to switch the juice box with the crackers, but Lloyd refused, mismatched eyes gleaming with a sleepy grumpiness.

“Give it up, Zane, he’s not letting go of that juice box,” Kai said before suddenly locking up, brow furrowing into a severe look. The abrupt switch was enough to wake Lloyd fully, and the other three demons tuned into the sudden change.

“What’s going on?” Lloyd asked, pushing the blanket off him as he sat up.

Kai licked his lips slowly as he reached behind his shoulder, unsheathing a slim sword crafted entirely of gold with rubies set into the hilt. His voice was a low, guttural growl as he said, “We’re not alone.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, relatively soft chapter ending with a cliffhanger. Aight then, let's see where this goes.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, don't forget to comment/kudo, and have a good day/night :)


	3. Protectors

Kai crept over to the window and peered out the window, eyes darting back and forth across the front yard, eyes narrowed and teeth bared slightly. Zane pulled Lloyd off the couch and held him closely against him, Jay and Cole slipping into the empty space between Kai and Zane.

“What are you sensing?” Cole’s voice sounded as tense as how everyone felt, and Kai let out an animalistic growl, shoulders curling inwards.

“Magic energy. Lots of it. It’s making it hard to tell how many there are.” Kai’s brow furrowed even more, and Lloyd wiggled out of Zane’s hold and scampered over to the window to take a peek. A glimpse of the long white beard and familiar hat walking up to the front porch was all it took for Lloyd to dash to the door, ignoring the yells for him to stop from behind him.

“You’re back!” Lloyd exclaimed as he launched himself off the stairs and into the arms of his uncle. Wu patted his head, looking fondly down at his nephew before he looked up at the four demons standing in a line on the porch, eyes narrowed as he stared at; each one of them.

“Lloyd, why are there demons on the porch?” Lloyd immediately pulled back, already cringing from the earful he knew he was going to get for doing unsupervised summoning.

“I can explain,” Lloyd said, glancing towards them, not paying that much attention to their hardened gazes. “But first, why don’t you come inside and rest your feet? I’ll make you some tea, and you can unwind for a bit. How was it, by the way? Did it go well?”

Lloyd continued to nag his uncle all the way into the house, trying to ignore the gazes that were burning into the back of his head. Even though they were still outside, refusing to be Lloyd’s shadow for the first time since he summoned them, he could sense them watching him as he made Wu some tea and encouraged him to talk about his journey and how Jamanakai Village was faring after the latest Serpentine attack. He finally encouraged Wu to go lay down for a nap as his travels surely exhausted him, and it was only after Lloyd was alone did the four demons confront him.

“A little bit of a heads up on who your uncle was would’ve been nice,” was the first thing Kai said as he draped an arm around Lloyd’s shoulders and steered him outside once more. “When you said your uncle was powerful, I didn’t think you meant the infamous Wu of all people. But, you said your dad was human?”

“Magic’s a finicky thing. Just because one child doesn’t have it doesn’t mean another can’t.” Lloyd shrugged. “I don’t make the rules when it comes to who inherits magic and who doesn’t.” He noticed the sorely confused look on Jay’s face, as if he was trying to decipher the mysteries of the universe. “Are you okay, Jay?”

The demon shook his head, a large grin on his face. “Yeah, I’m fine. Never been better!”

Lloyd narrowed his eyes, not believing the overly cheeky look on the demon’s face. But before he could ask any questions, Kai let out a growl similar to the one he made earlier, and Lloyd could see the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, something that did not happen before.

“Kai, if it’s another wizard-”

“It’s not,” the fire demon interrupted Cole, drawing the sword from earlier as well as a dragon-shaped hilt. In a burst of flames, a jagged blade colored a red-orange ombre shot from the dragon’s mouth. “It’s Serpentine.”

“What are we gonna do about the kid?” Jay pulled out a pair of nunchucks, the chain glowing bright blue with tiny bolts of lightning flickering between the links.

“Go back inside and stay with Wu,” Zane instructed as he ushered Lloyd back inside. “Let us handle this.” Lloyd looked at them doubtfully, but went inside anyways.

“The Serpentine are here,” Wu guessed as soon as Lloyd opened the door. Lloyd nodded, and the older wizard sighed.

“I’ve put you in danger by coming back,” he murmured. “You accidentally summoning those four...was maybe a good thing after all.”

“What makes you say that, Uncle?” Lloyd asked, alarmed by the words and even more so by the sounds that had begun outside the house.

Wu simply pulled Lloyd into a hug.  


* * *

 

Blood dripped into Zane’s left eye, blinding him as he crossed his shurikens to block an overhead swing from a Hypnobrai’s sword. He gritted his teeth and shook his head, blood scattering like scarlet rain, before spinning around and slicing a shuriken across the throat of a Fangpyre.

He knew without looking where his brothers were, and they all backed into a familiar formation, gathered in a circle with backs towards one another. Through the bond they shared, he felt Kai’s vicious pleasure as he cut Serpentine down left and right, basking in the warmth of the blood that splashed against him and becoming greedy and thirsty for even more blood to be spilled. He felt Jay’s rage growing like an oncoming electrical storm, becoming more intense and dangerous with each passing second until it would become too strong and powerful to be held back anymore. He felt Cole channeling energy directly from the earth itself and supplying it to the other three, fueling them to continue fighting. And he knew they felt the growing unsteadiness with Zane’s own mind, the smell and feel of the blood intoxicating him and affecting him in a similar yet different way with Kai.

No matter how many Serpentine fell to the hands of the demons, there were always more to take their places, continuing to wage battle against the demons. Zane didn’t know--or care about--how long they’d been fighting. All what he cared about as he threw his shurikens and kicked a nearby Constrictai away was that they keep fighting until the Serpentine were all dead or they retreated.

Zane would’ve continued to fight if Kai hadn’t sent an urgent message down the bond, warning of a explosion about to go off within a fifty foot radius. Cole wasted no time in forming a thick barrier made entirely of earth surrounding them, and seconds later the explosion Kai had warned them about rang out. Within the barrier, the demons were safe, but then they remembered Lloyd. After letting the barrier crumble, they stared for only a moment at the smoldering ruins of the house, the remaining Serpentine around them now dead, before racing to the smoking structure, desperately calling for Lloyd.

“I’m fine,” he rasped as he pushed cinders and burnt pieces of wood off him as he sat up in what was formerly the kitchen. Around his neck glowed a small amulet in the shape of a dragon’s head, gold inlaid with emeralds and rubies.

“What about Wu? Where is he?” Kai demanded, his bloodlust fading slowly as he spun in circles, looking for the older wizard. Lloyd shook his head slowly, clutching the amulet tightly in his hand as fat tears slowly rolled down his face.

“He’s gone. He used too much energy and...and…” Lloyd broke into sobs that rattled each demon to his core. They’d had their fair share of masters who had started bawling from one thing or another, but it must’ve been the fact that Lloyd was the youngest master they’ve ever had that stunned them into silence.

Zane knelt down next to Lloyd and pulled him into the one side that had the least amount of blood. Even with his reputation of being the meanest and cold-hearted of the four when in the throes of battle, Zane still had the smallest of fractures that allowed the faintest amount of weakness to slip through, and seeing Lloyd cry and scream himself hoarse found one of those fractures, and it softened the hardened demon’s heart ever so slightly.

“We need to find shelter, and soon. The sun’ll be setting before too long,” Cole said once Lloyd had run out of tears to cry and his voice was a harsh rasp. The fledgling slowly pulled his face out of Zane’s side, muttering an apology for staining his shirt with tears and snot.

“Where’d you recommend that be?” Lloyd asked thickly, scrubbing at his face with his hands.

“That’s up to you, actually. But there’s exceptions to everything,” Jay corrected hastily once he saw Lloyd slump into a ball back into Zane’s side, face buried in his ribs. “There’s a forest not too far from here. We can hide there for the night and figure out where to go tomorrow morning.”

Lloyd held a thumbs up, giving his approval, and Zane helped him onto his feet, holding onto him tightly. Cole came over and Lloyd climbed onto his back, something the two had silently communicated at some point.

“How far is it?” Lloyd mumbled, exhausted from the day’s events.

“Just a few miles. If we have to we can fly,” Cole answered, adjusting his grip on the insides of the kid’s knees.

“Do whatever you need to to make it happen.”

The four demons exchanged worried looks with one another, and communicated using the bond they shared.

_ Zane and I can scout for a spot while you and Kai take your time with Lloyd, _ Jay suggested.  _ Better to have a location ready just in case. _

_ Make sure it’s a cave already made. I don’t wanna make one after today, _ Cole sighed.  _ If that covers it, you two go on ahead. _

Jay and Zane nodded before rolling their shoulders forward and arching their backs. Large wings unfurled from their backs while glistening opaque horns curled from their foreheads, twisting into magnificent spirals.

_ I wish we didn’t need the horns when we needed the wings. They’re so cumbersome and heavy, _ Jay grumbled as he stretched his hands, nails two inches long and a glossy black color.

_ I agree, but we can’t change that. _ Zane spread his wings and took off into the air. Jay shook his head and sighed before pushing off and coming up alongside Zane.

_ If you’re not at the cave by sunset, fly. _ Kai and Cole nodded at the instruction, and the two demons in the air started heading towards the forest edge that was smudged against the horizon.

“Let me take him,” Kai offered to Cole after thirty minutes of walking. “You’ve been carrying him too much today.” Cole shook his head, jostling Lloyd back into position.

“I’m not the one drenched in blood,” Cole pointed out. “He’s not even that heavy. My  _ scythe _ is heavier than him.”

“I doubt that but okay. Maybe we should tell the others to also look for a hot spring or something if we are still drenched in blood.” He pretended to do a thorough examination of himself and Cole. “Well, would you look at that. We are.”

_ Already a step ahead of you, Kai. Zane found one not too far from the cave. _ Jay’s voice cut through both Kai’s and Cole’s heads, a slight echo resonating down the bond.  _ He’s already tested it and it’s come out alright to use. As for fresh clothes… _

_ You traveled by shadow, didn’t you? _ Cole interrupted even though he already knew the answer, having felt a sudden and large distance separate Jay from the others for a few minutes before returning to Zane.

_ I don’t want Lloyd or us having to sleep in filthy clothes or starve, okay? _ Jay said defensively.

_ We have a rule against sudden shadow-traveling, Jay. What will happen now if Kai or Cole or myself cannot travel by shadow because we lack the energy to but need to get Lloyd out of harm? _ Zane questioned, and Cole felt rather than heard Jay’s sigh.

_ We’ll set up a barrier, keep Kai up all night, and nothing will happen. Also, we have wings to fly with, so- _

_ I need my beauty sleep just as much as any other demon,  _ Kai objected, but Cole interjected with,  _ If we do the barrier, we’ll be fine till morning. Jay, I don’t want this to happen again unless it is a critical emergency. _

_ Yessir, _ Jay mumbled sullenly.  _ You guys might want to hurry up, though. It’s gonna be dusk before too long. _

Kai and Cole looked at each other and nodded. Coming to a halt, Cole stood patiently as Kai gently woke Lloyd, telling him that they were going to fly the rest of the way. If Lloyd cared, he didn’t show it as he waited for the demons to morph into their normal demonic forms before allowing Kai to pick him up.

It was practically dark when they reached the cave, Jay and Zane anxiously waiting for them at the mouth of the cave.

_ Good luck trying to get him in the hot springs for even a quick rinse. Kid’s been asleep for almost the entire trip, _ Kai said as his wings and horns vanished, still holding Lloyd in his arms.

_ It’s been a long day. Perhaps we should let him rest, then whenever he wakes up try to get him to eat, at the very least, _ Zane offered, and the other three nodded.

Kai set Lloyd down on the hastily-made blanket nest towards the back of the cave, lingering for a few moments to pick a few pieces of leftover ash from the kid’s hair before standing up.

_ I’m gonna go wash all this blood off. Jay, did you bring extra clothes for us when you shadow-traveled? _ Kai asked. Jay pointed to several bags close to the blanket nest.

_ I hope I got the right sizes, _ Jay said as Kai pulled out a pair of black skinny jeans, a black sleeveless shirt, a red hooded vest, and a box holding a pair of knee-high boots.

_ I was hoping for something a little more...relaxed, but I guess this’ll do. Anyways, I’m off to the hot springs. Bye! _ And with that, he took off for the hot springs about two hundred yards away.

* * *

Kai stripped his blood soaked clothes off, feeling the material bend stiffly as he peeled away the parts that had dried to his skin. The metallic scent hung heavy around him like smoke, becoming the only thing he could smell as he slipped into the water, letting out a soft sigh at the warmth.

He sunk into the water until only his neck and head were above the surface, steam wreathing around his face. He closed his eyes, letting the blood soften until he was able to wash it off just by running his hands across his skin. He was still going to smell of blood until he could take a proper shower with soap, but he couldn’t care less about the scent, not when he’d been bathed in blood for a good part of the afternoon and evening. If anything, blood had become a part of his natural scent and was impossible to get rid of completely.

Kai opened his eyes, not seeing the dark, glassy surface of the hot springs but instead a battlefield littered with corpses. The burned ruins of buildings collapsing and sending showers of sparks and ash into the smoke-darkened sky. The cries of the dying and wails of the grieving. The air rank with the stench of blood, smoke, and burning corpses.

“Mind if I join you?” Kai was brought back from the past by Lloyd’s voice, and the demon cracked a half-grin, waving a hand as an invite.

Lloyd winced from the heat but kept silent about it as he lightly dropped into the water on the opposite side of Kai, hands gripping his own shoulder and hip as he shyly covered himself with his arms. Kai’s grin grew larger, amused at the display of modesty even though it was dark say for a waxing moon overhead.

“You don’t have to be so shy,” Kai told him as he continued to keep his chest covered beneath the water. That only made Lloyd sink lower into the water until only his head was visible.

“Let me be,” he mumbled without any bite. “You may be comfortable strutting around naked, but I’m not.”

“Then let’s hope you don’t have to  _ fight _ naked. Had to do that a few times myself, and let me tell you something: it is  _ not _ fun. Especially when dealing with deadly vipers, acid blood, poisoned blades-”

“I’m sorry. What?”

Kai leaned back against a flat stone. “You heard me. Deadly vipers, acid blood, poisoned blades, the list goes on and on. You want to hear a story?”

Lloyd nodded, and Kai beckoned him closer. Lloyd trudged over, careful not to slip on a loose stone, and settled down next to Kai, large eyes fixed on the demon’s profile.

“The first time I had to fight naked was shortly after I was created,” Kai began, leaning his head back and staring up at the star-filled sky. “Ironically enough, I was also in a hot spring just like this, washing blood off after a particularly nasty fight. Since I was pretty new, my powers were still weak as hell, so I didn’t know there were snakes creeping until they were practically on top of me.”

“But you and the others are the most powerful demons ever?” Lloyd interrupted, looking quizzical. Kai tapped the pad of his finger against the tip of the kid’s nose before tousling his hair with a wet hand.

“Now we are. Not when we were first created. We were weaklings, but we were given some pretty powerful booster shit and within a few years we were significantly more powerful, but that still took time. That’s another story, though.

“I did what any warrior would do and started turning them into shish-kabobs, but it wasn’t until I felt my skin start to burn did I realize I was turning the hot spring into a pool of acid. Which is funny, actually, considering water neutralizes acid. But this stuff?" Kai let out a low whistle and shook his head. "This stuff could eat through metal, it was so potent. But hey, if you ever find yourself facing acid and you've got water on hand, just remember this:  _ If you’re doing what you otta, / Add your acid to your watta _ . Just a little saying I picked up on through the years.” Kai exhaled deeply through his nose, the cheeky look of pride that had been shining in his eyes faded back into a normal glint as his gaze was fixed on the moon once more. “When you’re as old as Ninjago itself, you pick up on a few things like that.”

“Holy fuck you’re ancient.”

Kai scowled. “Hey. Show some respect, pipsqueak.” He wrestled Lloyd into a light hold, rubbing his knuckles into the kid’s scalp. Lloyd wriggled away and splashed the water towards the demon, grinning as Kai glared at him.

“You’ve still got some blood on your face,” Lloyd said, wading back over to Kai. He reached out a hand and rubbed a thumb beneath the demon’s right eye and trailing up his temple, erasing the blood. Kai closed his eyes, letting the kid clean the blood off.

“Back to the story. You in a pool of acid.”

“Right, that. Anyways, there I was about to melt into bloody chunks of flesh in that hot spring whenever Zane comes out of nowhere and starts freezing the bastards. He ended up also freezing the water too, so I was stuck in it from the waist down. It was a little embarrassing, but I don’t think any of them remember it now.”

Lloyd waited for a few moments after Kai had gone quiet before realizing that was the end of the story. “That’s it? Nothing else? What happened to the acid bleeders? You can at least tell me that.”

“Never heard Venomari be called  _ acid bleeders _ before,” Kai mused as he scooped a handful of water up and poured it over his left shoulder. He sensed Lloyd’s next question and began explaining before the words even left the kid’s mouth.

“Modern Venomari, or Serpentine in general, don’t bleed acid, but the original ones did. They were some truly ugly and despicable motherfuckers. Sadistic, cruel, and the meanest creatures ever. The Venomari venom would eat right through your flesh, no more different than the Serpentine blood, while the Hypnobrai could take control of your brain and through it, control your breathing or heart and kill you that way. Fangpyres had a poisoned bite, and the general was the only one who could either turn you into one of them or kill you with venom, hence the two heads.” Kai paused, brow furrowing slightly. “Constrictai haven’t changed much, and Anacondrai...no one remembers what they did aside from turn invisible and be the most fearsome snake warriors ever.” The demon sighed. “Now we can safely fight Serpentine and not worry about being eaten through with acid blood, being poisoned from a bite, or hypnotized into organ failure. All that time locked away weakened and degraded their powers, which is a good thing for us.”

Lloyd remained silent, absorbing the information given to him. In the moon’s rays reflected in the steaming surface of the water, Kai could see the kid’s eyes distant, no doubt wondering about what Ninjago freshly born was like. Kai broke the somber mood by flicking water into Lloyd’s face, and the two started splashing each other with water once more, the moodiness disappearing.

“Aight, Lloyd, time to get out,” Kai said after Zane had sent a message down the bond urging the pair to return to the cave. “No doubt you’re tired and hungry after today.”

“More like exhausted and famished,” Lloyd corrected as he pulled himself out of the pool and started drying off. Once he was reasonably dried, he started dressing in a pair of fitted, white-washed jeans, a plain tee shirt, and a thick zip-up hoodie that was as rich and vibrant as summer grass.

“What is that, and how’d you do that?” he asked in amazement as he watched Kai turn into a flaming vortex for a few seconds and then stop, completely dried off and fully dressed.

“It’s called Spinjitzu, and it’s actually a fighting technique that we learned  _ way _ back when but now only use it to change clothes or forms. It makes things a little easier,” Kai said as they started back to the cave, one arm around Lloyd’s narrow shoulders.

“Change...forms?”

Kai put a finger to his lips as they neared the mouth of the cave, the voices of the other three demons reaching their ears. “That’s something for another time. For now, let’s get you fed and bundled up for the night.” Lloyd nodded and trudged into the cave in front of Kai. Zane took over the main job of looking after Lloyd, getting him food from what Jay had “borrowed without paying for” as he’d explained.

Close to the mouth of the cave sat Cole and Jay, Jay’s head leaning against Cole’s broad shoulder. Both were sleeping heavily, and Kai himself felt a sort of bone-deep tiredness as he stared at the two for a moment before he felt someone tug lightly at his hand. He looked over and found himself looking into mismatched eyes.

“I’m cold,” Lloyd said, voice falling into a whisper. Kai nodded, and allowed himself to be pulled over to the blanket nest. Settling down, he patiently waited for Lloyd to get comfortable, one arm going around the demon’s waist while he buried his face into a warm neck. It took a few final adjustments, but then Lloyd was out like a light, wrapped around Kai like a lifeline.

Kai raised a hand and lightly stroked the back of Lloyd’s head, twisting a long lock of honey blond hair around a finger as he lost himself in thought, most things tumbling around his head revolving around Lloyd and what could happen the next day.

_ You need to stop thinking so much, Kai, _ Zane said, sending the message to Kai alone.  _ Jay and I have volunteered to do most of the work involving Lloyd tomorrow. You and Cole need to take a rest from doing it so much. _

_ Fine by me. Night, Zane, _ Kai replied as his eyes slowly fluttered close. He heard a faint whisper of a good night from Zane, and then he was surrendering to the dark peacefulness of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I......don't even have anything to say about this, so, have a good week, have a good day/night, don't forget to comment/kudo, and I'll catch y'all next time :)


	4. Into Ninjago City

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize about the wait, but it's been a little hectic the past month. This chapter did end up being a bit longer than expected, so I hope it makes up for the wait.
> 
> And in case alcohol use bothers anyone, there is also a little bit of drinking but it's scattered throughout a few later paragraphs with one sip of underage drinking. It doesn't last very long, though.
> 
> With that being said, enjoy.

“What part of ‘Lloyd needs as much sleep as possible’ do you three not understand?” Zane narrowed his eyes at the three other demons messing around with Lloyd the next morning, trying to wake him. Jay was tickling his nose with a feather he’d found while Kai was whispering into Lloyd’s ear as Cole was shaking him. “If you piss him off, don’t blame me.”

“Relax, Zane. We’re not gonna piss him off,” Jay said seconds before Lloyd swung a hand and smacked the demon upside the head.

“You shoulda listened,” Lloyd growled in a voice made deep and rough from sleep. “I was having such a good dream, and then you three just  _ had _ to ruin it.” He slowly sat up and shoved them off him. He stalked over to Zane and settled down on the floor behind him, his forehead landing in the space between the pale-haired demon’s shoulders, arms wrapping around the waist in front of him.

“You should have listened indeed,” Zane commented coolly, hands engulfing the smaller ones that were folded across his stomach. “I’d be wary of him now. You might piss him off even more if you do anything stupid.”

“I’m hungry,” Lloyd whined into Zane’s back, face still pressed against the demon’s semi-broad back. “Do we have anything to eat?”

“Nothing nutritious, which is what you need,” the demon answered while fixing Jay with an icy stare. Jay shrugged, a cheeky smirk on his face, and Zane scowled, thumb rubbing across Lloyd’s knuckles. “We need to move anyways; we cannot afford to stay here for too long.”

“Ninjago City’s only a few hours away, maybe six or seven by flight. We’ll be there before evening,” Cole said. “At least, according to Jay.”

“How would he know that?” Lloyd mumbled, refusing to budge from his position. “Did he fly for that distance while timing himself?”

“It’s what he does,” Kai sighed, beginning to grow bored. He started throwing pinches of dirt at the blue-clad demon that was seated next to him as he added, “He’s the scout and thief for us. He figures out how far a distance is by either running or flying it. As for stealing, he’s never once been caught ‘cuz you can’t catch a thief if he’s fast as hell.”

“I was  _ forged _ from lightning itself; did you expect me to be slow?” Jay grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at Kai, creating a large brown patch on his new hooded vest. “If I was supposed to be slow, I woulda been made from fire instead.”

Kai squawked, offended, and then snapped, “ _ I’m _ not the one who fucking destroyed his birthplace.”

“No, you just almost killed everyone within a three hundred-mile radius,” slapped back Jay with a bite to his words.

“What are they arguing about?” Lloyd finally lifted his head from Zane’s back and instead pressed it against the demon’s nape, his golden eye peering out from the side, hood still drawn low over his head.

“The usual ‘At least I didn’t…’ bullshit.” Cole sounded irritated, and he tugged on his bangs with a frustrated huff. He finally kicked the two arguing demons and told them to shut it before stretching his arms over his head and standing up, threatening to separate them if they didn’t quiet down. Kai and Jay obeyed but still sent scathing glares at each other.

“So, Ninjago City’s the closest place.” Lloyd directed the conversation back to their next location. “Will it be safe there?”

“Safer than hanging out in a cave,” Kai said before shoving Jay after he’d been punched in the shoulder by his brother. “I'm not sure about you guys, but I still need a proper shower. I still reek of blood from yesterday.”

“Yeah, you always smell like blood no matter how many showers you take or what kind of soap you use. You’re cursed to smell like that forever,” Jay deadpanned. Kai scowled and smacked him upside the head, which earned him another punch in the shoulder.

Lloyd slumped against Zane, pressing his face into the curve of the demon’s neck. “I’m still hungry,” the kid muttered. “Nutritious or not, just give me something to eat already.” Zane glanced behind his shoulder at the small face still pressed into his neck, hood pulled down and hiding it from view, but he felt a rumble from Lloyd’s stomach.

Zane reluctantly allowed Lloyd to eat the snacks Jay had brought back with him whenever he acquired them and the clothes through less than legal means, just enough to curb the hunger; he could have some more later on, the pale demon said in an attempt to reassure a severely pouting Lloyd.

The five finally started out within the hour, walking a half-mile to allow the demons to warm up before their wings unfurled and their horns appeared, getting ready to fly for several hours. Lloyd stuck with Zane, preferring the ice demon’s larger body to Jay’s smaller, more lithe frame for transport purposes.

“Isn’t there a faster way? Like hanging onto Jay and making him use his super speed to get us to Ninjago City?” Lloyd whined as he wrapped himself around Zane’s torso like a koala to a eucalyptus tree. “I can’t even imagine what flying for seven hours feels like for you guys.”

“That’d be a great idea, except I can’t carry more than two extra people and I have a very limited amount of energy to spend on doing that,” Jay said as he rolled his shoulders forwards and backwards to loosen them up. “I’d suggest traveling by shadow but that’s only used as a last resort kinda thing. Or if we really need supplies that we don’t have.”

“No offense, but that sounds like bullshit in a way,” Lloyd deadpanned. “Why should traveling by shadow be a last resort? It can’t take that much energy.”

“You’d be surprised how drained shadow-travel leaves us,” Cole corrected, the horns protruding from his forehead looking like twisted antlers. If antlers had just the beam, a distinct criss-cross pattern, and were glossy black in color. His wings were bat-like, membranes attached to skeletal fingers, and if he’d been holding his arms out to the sides, his wings would’ve easily spanned an extra foot past his hands.

“Whaddya mean?” Lloyd shouted after they’d taken flight and were soaring through the air.

Cole pulled in closer to Zane to better converse with Lloyd and shouted back, “Depending on the distance, it can take quite a bit out of our energy levels! The more times we do it or the longer the distance, the more energy is required for it! Even a short distance can often require a lot of energy!”

Lloyd fell silent in Zane’s arms, legs and arms still wrapped firmly around the demon’s front part of his torso. “What about carrying multiple people?”

“Increased chance of death!” Kai yelled, taking Cole’s place next to Zane. “For the carrier and the passenger! Only do it in short jumps and take long rests between them!”

“Being a demon’s a little fucked up with all these rules,” Lloyd said into Zane’s ear, and the demon cracked a wry smile.

“Everyone has restrictions, whether they be demon, wizard, or human,” he replied. “Even being as powerful as we are, we still have our limits.”

“I still say it’s fucked up.”

* * *

 

They landed in a small clearing two hours after starting, Lloyd claiming he really needed to pee. As he disappeared to take care of business, the four demons huddled up and did some stretches to keep their back muscles from becoming stiff.

_ Man, I forgot how tiring it was to fly for so long, _ Jay complained as he rolled his right shoulder forward a few times before doing the same with his left.  _ I’m ready to give up a helluva lot of energy to shadow-travel our way to Ninjago City. At least taking turns to do it so I don’t combust and die. _

_ We’re not shadow-traveling. It’s too much of a risk for us to do that in a group, let alone with Lloyd with us,  _ Cole stated firmly.

Kai snapped his fingers, his eyes lighting up with an idea.  _ Or, we do travel by shadow but we do frequent stops to pass the pipsqueak onto each other so none of us get too overwhelmed. Think about it, there’s four of us, one of him. We all shadow-travel but only one of us will have him at any given moment. Then, after that jump, whoever has him passes him onto one who hasn’t shadow-traveled with him yet. _ He rubbed his hands together for a few seconds and then opened his arms, notched eyebrow raised and a pleased look on his face.  _ Sound like a plan? _

It was still being considered whenever Lloyd came running back, and he slowed whenever he saw the thoughtful and contemplative looks on three of the four faces. They seemed to come to an agreement nonverbally, and turned to face Lloyd.

Jay held a hand out to the kid and announced, “You’re coming with me for the first jump.”

Lloyd stared at the outstretched hand dressed in a black, fingerless glove. “Excuse me? We’re doing what?”

“The very thing we told you we did our best to avoid due to the high danger risks, but hey, sometimes we break the rules because we’re a bunch of lazy fucks.” Jay grabbed Lloyd’s wrist and pulled him close. Looking at the others, the blue-clad demon proposed that they start shadow-traveling.

“So it’s gonna feel like you’re being constricted for a second or two, ears are gonna pop, and you may even pass out and-or throw up. All common side effects of shadow-traveling for the first time,” Jay reassured Lloyd as he pulled the kid close up against him.

“Wait, what!”

“Stay close behind me, boys!” And with that, Jay dove headfirst into the closest shadow, a shrieking Lloyd held tightly in his arms.

The familiar constricting feeling encased Jay, making him feel like he was being squeezed by the Constrictai General’s tail. It lasted for an intense eight seconds, and then they were falling out of a shadow cast upon a large boulder, rolling across the ground.

Jay landed on his back, eyes rolling into the back of his head. He could hear the others tumbling out of the shadow as well as the sound of Lloyd retching a few yards away, but the sounds were muted. Darkness encroached on the edge of his vision, and Jay felt his stomach churn.

“Jay, you alright?”

“Front,” the demon whispered weakly as saliva started flooding his mouth. Kai did so immediately, wrapping his arms around Jay’s torso to keep him from face-planting into the pile of sick Jay threw up.

“Easy there, you went quite the distance,” Kai said, rubbing Jay’s back as he threw up once more while Cole checked in on Lloyd, both looking incredibly pale. “Why’d you go so far when you knew we’d be taking turns?”

“Wanted you guys to conserve your energy,” Jay rasped before his body clenched up in a dry heave. “Fuck.” He wiped his mouth on the back of his hand and slowly sat back on his heels as he turned to look at Lloyd, who looked as sick as when he summoned the four demons. “How’s the kid?”

“Worse than you. We’ve decided on taking a break for an hour or two so you and him can rest. C’mon, let’s get you some water.” Kai helped Jay to turn back over, hands firm yet gentle on the lightning demon’s shoulders as he pulled his knees up against his chest. Kai then stood up and retrieved a water bottle from the bag Cole’d been carrying filled with their leftover supplies stolen by Jay the night before. He popped the lid and handed it to Jay, who accepted it and took small sips from it.

_ How much farther do we have left to go? _ Jay asked, eyes fixed on a passed out Lloyd curled around Cole, the kid’s head resting on the demon’s muscular chest. Cole looked up at the other three, fingers buried in Lloyd’s hair and giving him a slight scalp massage as he slept.

_ If we fly, probably another hour. You took four hours off, which I thought we were going to split to avoid using too much energy so none of us would get sick, but now three of us are exactly that, _ Cole said, turning his head away from Lloyd and coughing, spitting out a glob of mucus. He rubbed his shoulder against his mouth before leaning his back against the rock they’d come out of, and Jay finally noticed the dulled look in his eyes. Jay narrowed his own as he realized the earth demon must’ve given a portion of his own energy to Kai and Zane, which explained why the two were perfectly fine despite the long jump.

_ I think we should fly. If it’s only an hour away, we can do it. _ Zane glanced at Cole.  _ Will you be able to fly in a few hours? _

Cole nodded, eyes closing as his fingers continued to play with Lloyd’s hair.  _ Yeah, just lemme...lemme take a nap. I’ll be fine, I promise. I just need some sleep. _ His fingers gradually stilled, and Jay could sense his energy become calm and peaceful as he drifted off.

“You should get some sleep, too. You used quite a lot of energy,” Kai murmured to Jay, who nodded and then relaxed against his more impulsive brother, head resting against his shoulder. Closing his eyes, it took only a few moments for Jay to pass out.

* * *

 

Cole was still fairly exhausted even after the intense nap he took, but felt better than when he’d rolled out of the boulder’s shadow, drained from lending Kai and Zane his strength to prevent them using too much of their own energy when shadow-traveling. He hated traveling by shadow, and was wondering why he’d even agreed to go through with Kai’s plan after Jay volunteered first. Nothing good ever came out of Kai’s head that was immediately acted upon by Jay, so why should it have been different this time? But now up in the air and flying to Ninjago City, Cole’s head was cleared, and he took the lead.

_ How’s Lloyd and Jay holding up? _ Cole asked across the bond. He could feel Jay’s energy less sharp and erratic than normal, still clearly passed out from the strain he put on himself. Even more distantly, Cole felt Lloyd’s energy, pulsing faintly like a small heartbeat.

_ Pipsqueak’s passed out, and Jay’s still unconscious. He hasn’t woken up since he fell asleep, and I’m kinda worried. He’s never been down for this long before, _ Kai answered.  _ Zane, whenever we get to Ninjago City, do you think you could check Jay over? _

_ Already planning on it. But first, we’ll need a place to lay low in. If there are any ideas for those, I’d be glad to hear them. _

As the three conscious demons planned what to do next, the Ninjago City horizon started coming into view, starting out as a faint smudge and then gradually becoming more defined with skyscrapers. One in particular towered above all the others, located in the heart of the city. Kai pointed it out, and they decided to check it out first but also agreed to land on the outskirts of the city first to return to their pure human disguises.

_ Uh, we have a new problem. How are we supposed to look inconspicuous if we’re carrying two unconscious people, one of which is a baby? We’re sure to raise questions if we walk around like that, _ Kai pointed out.

Cole snapped his fingers after a few moments of thought.  _ I got it. We just gotta hope Jay doesn’t have to do a breathalyzer. _

_ What are you planning? _ Kai asked apprehensively, shifting Jay who was draped across his back between his wings.

Cole grinned.  _ Just trust me. _

* * *

 

They touched down just a short distance outside the city limits in an empty area. Cole, Zane, and Kai willed their horns and wings away before starting into the city, Jay still on Kai’s back as Zane carried Lloyd. The plan was that if they were stopped, to say that Lloyd was Zane’s little brother and that Jay was wasted and they were all friends who just so happened to run into each other because hey, coincidental run-ins happen no matter how sketchy they seem. Once they’d reviewed the plan, they started into the city.

Tall robots patrolled the streets, scanners constantly sweeping across the sidewalks and over every vehicle and pedestrian. Cole thought they were going to be fine, but then one scanner flashed over them and it immediately turned red.

“ **Unregistered demons detected** ,” the robot said mechanically, raising an arm and pointing it at the group. It repeated the message as it charged them, sending pedestrians and vehicles fleeing the scene.

“The fuck does it mean ‘unregistered’?!” Kai screeched as he dove to the side, losing Jay in the process. Jay landed heavily on the cracked pavement, and Kai ran over to the vulnerable demon, drawing his golden sword and blocking the blow that the robot was going to inflict upon Jay. A second robot that Kai didn’t see came at them, red scanners flashing, and Cole countered it before screeching. He swung his scythe and destroyed the robot, sparks flying from cut wires as it collapsed to the street.

“ **Come with me** ,” a roboticized voice from behind him said. Cole spun around and saw a small figure dressed in red and black and wearing an ornate helmet. Onyx eyes outlined in black eyeliner with a smoky red eyeshadow glittered as they clashed with the demon’s gaze. They shone with recognition, and Cole felt a small smile form on his face. He sent a message down the bond to Kai and Zane, and they picked up the two unconscious members of their party before following the newcomer down a narrow alley.

They ran through the city, taking side streets and cutting through alleys, finally coming to a more high-scaled part of the city. Ducking behind a thick layer of boxes stacked in an alley, the newcomer finally slowed down and turned to face them.

“Never thought I’d see your faces again.” Their guide removed their helmet, and she ran a gloved hand through her hair, trying to smooth it down. “I’m glad you guys were in my district and not someone else’s.”

“Nya!” Kai shrugged Jay off, the demon finally starting to come to, and pulled her into a tight hug. “Fuck, it’s been so long. I’m happy to see you’re still alive.” He pulled away from her. “What happened to Ninjago City? It wasn’t like this the last time we were here.”

Nya sighed and adjusted the helmet under her arm. “The last time you were here, technology didn’t exist to the state it does now.” She looked around and leaned in close. “We’re still not safe here. You guys can use the apartment I was given due to my rank. I rarely use it anyways, so knock yourselves out with it.” She paused and raised a hand to her left ear, then sighed again. Donning the helmet back on, she gave them directions to get to the apartment and then said she’d be back later with food to explain everything and bring them up-to-date on the new happenings in Ninjago City before turning and running back in the street, an S-shaped chakram in hand.

“Was that Nya?” Jay slurred, voice a strained, hoarse whisper. Kai grabbed him from Cole’s grasp and got him back onto his original position, the lightning demon sagging once more on Kai’s back.

“Yeah, it was,” Cole answered as he found the back door Nya had said would lead to the back stairs heading up to her apartment. He suddenly paused, Zane bumping into him.

“Why are you stopping?” Zane asked, feeling Lloyd perk up a bit at the sudden jolt.

Cole sighed and linked arms with everyone, muttering “I don’t wanna walk all the way up” before shadow-traveling them all to the top and into Nya’s apartment.

“ _ Why _ would you do that? Haven’t you done enough today?”  Kai demanded as Cole sagged against the wall once inside, eyes squeezed shut as he arched his neck, throat bobbing as he swallowed thickly.

“I’ll be fine,” the earth demon rasped. “Just...just need a moment.” He slid down the wall, breathing heavy as he pressed a hand to his side. “Shit, shouldn't've done that.”

“Do you need some tea?” Zane inquired, setting Lloyd down on a couch, the kid finally awake and looking around the new location. Cole nodded, grimacing as his body arched, and a pained gasp came from his lips. Zane dropped what he was doing and rushed to the ailing demon’s side. Kai could hear the conversation the two were having, but remained quiet. Feeling the pain and exhaustion pulsing from Cole was explanation enough for the fire demon, and went to make Cole’s tea.

From the couch, Lloyd watched with large, shadowed eyes as Zane examined the bleeding wound on Cole’s side before calling Kai over from the kitchen as the ice demon went to the bathroom in search of a first aid kit, which he fortunately found. The fire demon obeyed without hesitation, abandoning the cup of steaming tea and kneeling down on the opposite side of Zane. Kai put both hands over the wound that had been cleaned using antibacterial wipes, and Lloyd could see the demon’s hands glow a bright flame-like color. Cole arched his back in a steep curve, biting out a sharp and pained curse as Kai cauterized the wound.

Lloyd would’ve been lying if he said he wasn’t a little envious of the bond the demons shared. They could feel what the others were feeling, hear what the others were thinking, and communicate without speaking. They were constantly looking out for one another, making sure everyone was alright. It was a beautiful bond that Lloyd would never get to experience, and it made him a bit sad although he wasn’t sure why.

Zane and Kai then helped Cole to stand up and assisted in him stumbling into one of the eight bedrooms Nya’s apartment offered. Zane returned moments later to help with Jay, scooping the much smaller demon up in his arms as if he weighed nothing.

Lloyd remained on the couch, stomach snarling in hunger with a headache forming. He glanced at the clock and was surprised to see that it was only three thirty-one in the afternoon. He flopped backwards, throwing an arm over his eyes. It felt like it should’ve been night, not mid afternoon, and the realization exhausted him even further.

“Sorry about forgetting you for a moment, Lloyd,” Kai said as he and Zane returned from the bedrooms. Lloyd shrugged, not caring all that much if he was neglected for a few minutes so that two of his four demon protectors could be taken care of by the other two.

“They were in need of attention more than me,” Lloyd countered tiredly. He’d just woken up from the long distance Jay had shadow-traveled with him, and he wanted to go back to sleep, such was his exhaustion, but his stomach letting out angry growls of hunger prevented him from doing so.

“I forgot, you still need fed.” Lloyd heard Zane start into the kitchen and start opening cupboards, undoubtedly seeing all what Nya’s kitchen had to offer at the moment. There was a disappointed sigh and then Zane informed Lloyd that all was available was granola bars, powdered milk packets, an unopened can of cooking spray, and three ice cube trays filled with what looked like beaten eggs.

Lloyd removed his arm from his eyes and sat up, turning his head to stare at Zane. “Did you just say...beaten eggs in ice cube trays?” Zane nodded, holding one such container up, and Lloyd curled up on the couch once more, eyes staring into the reflection in the large TV screen two or so yards away.

“But are they safe to use?” Kai pressed. “No point in unthawing them just to realize that they’re bad.”

“Eggs frozen in this manner can keep up to six months. I would like to say they’re alright, but if Nya very rarely comes by, then it’ll hard to tell. I will ask her tonight,” Zane said, putting the eggs back in the freezer. “In the meantime-”

“I’ll do a granola bar. Those can’t be too stale, right?”

After one bite, Lloyd knew he had never been more wrong in his life.

* * *

 

Nya came blundering in through the door, dressed in a red tunic, red leggings, black flats, and carrying six grocery bags on each arm. She kicked the door shut, startling Lloyd awake from where he slept on the couch with his head resting on Zane’s thigh as him and Kai watched a movie about fucked up bats that hunted only by sound.

“Today has been  _ exhausting _ ,” she announced as she headed into the kitchen, setting the bags on the countertop. “Which is why I got a six-pack and a few bottles of wine. I’m not sure what your preferences are, so I got sweet  _ and _ dry reds, a riesling, and a rosé. Which bottle am I cracking open first?”

“I’ll do a sweet red. Choose a bottle, read it, then open it,” Kai said. Nya ripped open the wine bottle opener she’d just bought and had the bottle open in a matter of seconds after reading aloud, “ _Contains flavors of vanilla, spice, and mocha as well as chocolate and ripe raspberries_."  


“I’ve only got plastic cups, if that’s alright,” she said as she poured some into a red cup, and Kai shrugged, turning his head to look at her.

“I’ll take the bottle if it’s that good,” he answered.

She walked over to him with the wine-filled cup and the bottle, reading the label aloud as she handed him the cup.  Kai swirled the cup beneath his nose before taking a sip. His eyes widened and he licked his lips appreciatively.

“Try it, Zane,” he said as he passed the cup to his colder brother, who took it gingerly and sipped from it as well. “It’s gotta be one of the best wines I’ve ever had, and I have drunk many wines in my lifetime.”

“It is quite smooth and rich,” Zane added, stealing another sip from it before returning it to Kai, who took a long sip of it and leaned his head back, sighing in content.

“Is it really that good?” Lloyd piped up, staring at the deep red liquid in the cup before glancing up at Kai. “Can I try it?”

“You’re not old enough,” Zane swiftly answered before Kai could open his mouth to answer. Kai glared at the ice demon and handed the cup to Lloyd regardless, reminding him to take small sips. Lloyd did so, and the flavors settled across his tongue like a silky blanket. He swallowed, feeling the burn of the alcohol slip down his throat and into his stomach, the taste still heavy on his lips and tongue.

“Well? What did you think?” Kai prompted as he took his cup back, taking another sip from it. Lloyd sucked on his lower lip, trying to get every last bit of flavor he could.

“Considering that was the first taste of alcohol I’ve ever had, I liked it,” the kid said, trying to steal the wine from Kai’s hand. Kai pulled the cup away, clucking his tongue, and Lloyd sank back against Zane, crossing his arms over his chest and pouting.

“What else did you get, Nya?” Zane asked as she rolled her eyes with a half-smile on her face, retreating back into the kitchen with the wine bottle in hand. She set it on the counter next to all the other bottles of wine and started going through the groceries.

“The basics like bread, milk, cereal. Mayonnaise, cheese and meat for sandwiches. Also some cans of soup and sauce for the pasta, which I obviously got as well.  Y’know, stuff like that.” Nya brushed her bangs to the side and then put a hand on her hip. “What were you thinking of making for dinner?”

Zane rose from the couch and took cat-like steps over to her, already landing on a basic and simple but fool-proof recipe. “Any vegetables?”

“Peas?” Nya pulled a can out and handed it to Zane, who was going through the three different types of pasta before settling on a box of tricolored noodles. Zane nodded in approval, and set to work making dinner. Meanwhile, Lloyd was begging Kai for more wine, which Kai refused by chugging the rest of the contents.

“You can have the drops,” the fire demon said as he patted Lloyd on the head as the kid stared down at the blood-like droplets that clung to white, plastic inside. “But no more alcohol until you’re of legal age, got that, pipsqueak?”

Lloyd pulled his head away, sinking down into the corner of the couch before jumping at a large amount of sudden commotion coming from the movie, alarms going off and people screaming and horrible screeches coming from the speakers.

“Ugh, could you keep the volume down? Jay and I are trying to sleep,” Cole grumbled as he limped from the hallway, eyes bleary and angry as he stared at the TV. “The fuck are you guys watching?”

Lloyd apologized and then reached for the volume remote, turning it down until the movie was at least half of the original volume. Cole nodded his thanks and then shambled back off to bed, obviously still worn from shadow-traveling and then being wounded on top of it.

The movie finished shortly after the scene anyways, and Lloyd scrolled through the channels until he found a station for soft background music. Dinner was ready shortly afterwards, and Lloyd inhaled two large servings, feeling his belt strain a little from how much he’d eaten. Afterwards he showered, letting the scalding water strip him of sweat and anything else that might’ve gotten on him. The walls were dripping with moisture once he’d finished, and it wasn’t long afterwards that he was hopping into bed, sliding beneath clean, cold sheets.

An hour later, and he still couldn’t fall asleep. Despite his exhaustion, he couldn’t get comfortable enough to doze off, and he finally got up, frustrated. Opening the door slowly, he tiptoed down the hall to stand before the shut door that separated him from Kai. Lloyd would’ve gone to one of the others, but Zane was always so cold, Jay had slipped back into a comatose-like state shortly after they’d gotten into the apartment earlier, and Cole was in no mood to cuddle with anyone. Lloyd raised a hand to softly knock on the door whenever it swung upon, revealing a shirtless Kai in a pair of pink high-waisted sleep shorts that he was borrowing from Nya just until they could get proper pajamas, scarred and muscular thighs on display.

Lloyd awkwardly lowered his hand, noticing for the first time the tattoo right above Kai’s heart, a solid red dragon’s head with fire wreathing it. Kai’s notched eyebrow rose slightly, and he broke the silence by guessing, “You can’t sleep ‘cuz you’re too used to being cuddled by one of us. Is that it?” Lloyd nodded, and Kai stepped back to let the kid slip inside the dark room.

“I’d go to one of the others, but-”

“Zane’s too cold, Jay’s in a coma, and Cole will punch you through a wall if you so much as breathe wrong,” Kai finished. Lloyd nodded as he crawled onto the queen-sized bed, slipping beneath the sheets, already warm from the fire demon being beneath them. Kai started to do the same but then paused.

“Does me being shirtless bother you at all? Because if it does, I can put a shirt on, if that would make you feel more comfortable.”

Lloyd shrugged, lacking the words to say. Kai decided to play it safe and pulled a tee shirt with the sleeves cut off on, and then crawled back into bed. He tucked one arm beneath his pillow and the other he held open in an invitation, one which Lloyd quickly accepted and buried himself against the demon, breathing in the faint smell of smoke with an even lighter trace of blood despite the cherry blossom-scented body wash he’d used during his earlier shower.

Kai ran his fingers methodically through Lloyd’s hair, still slightly damp from his shower. The demons had quickly learned that stroking the kid’s hair was an effective way of getting him to sleep, and it was no different tonight as Lloyd let out a sleepy purr and pressed his face into Kai’s chest, reveling in the way the demon’s nails gently scratched against his scalp as his body radiated a comforting amount of warmth. Soon, Lloyd found himself drifting off to sleep, safe and secure in his demon’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowow, wasn't that a lengthy chapter? More on Nya and what she does in the next chapter. Until then, take care, be safe, and I'll catch you guys next time.


	5. Lore, Weapons, and More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, an update! My betas have been super incredibly busy so that's why the long wait
> 
> I am not a weapons/martial arts master, so I apologize for any inaccuracies

Jay slowly blinked his eyes open, seeing nothing but darkness as a low moan of pain coming from his lips. His muscles were stiff and protested as he tried to move his limbs, but then gave up, the effort too much for him. He felt his eyelashes brush against a soft strip of material and realized he must be blindfolded. He tried to say something but all what came out was a weak rasp.

 _Easy there. Don’t strain yourself._ He slowly turned his head, following the bond, towards the direction of a familiar voice. A cool washcloth was dabbed across his forehead before being folded into thirds and left there. _You’ve used a lot of energy and need to rest._

 _How long have I been out?_ Jay asked.

_At least five days. Like I said, you used a lot of energy._

Jay sighed as he relaxed back into the pillows. _How’s Lloyd? Is he alright?_

 _Just fine. Cole was wounded because of a robot who called us ‘unregistered demons’, but he’s pretty much healed now._ Jay felt rather than heard Kai’s sigh, feeling the frustration of the past few weeks weighing down on the fire demon.

_Why am I blindfolded? Never been before after shadow-traveling that far with another person, so why now?_

_We didn’t want you putting too much strain on anything. We decided to give sensory deprivation a shot to see if it would help. You haven’t been blindfolded the entire time, just since we felt you start coming back around,_ Kai added hastily, removing the washcloth from Jay’s forehead. There was the sound of water in a bowl, and then the washcloth was returned to its place on his brow. _I wouldn’t try moving, either. You’re stiff from traveling and then being in one position although we’ve done our best to keep you from locking up too much._

Jay let out a rough noise of displeasurement deep in his throat. _It’s never been this bad before, so why now?_ Kai shrugged before asking if he needed anything. Jay declined, and then the fire demon excused himself, saying he needed to check on Lloyd.

Once the bedroom door was shut, Jay let out a sigh through his nostrils. He thought back to when he’d shadow-traveled with Lloyd, and remembered how unusually drained he’d felt afterwards. He’d carried another person for the distance that he did before but never felt as shitty as he did now. He felt as if he’d traveled twice the distance than what he did, which raised the question if he’d been unknowingly bitten by an energy-stealing parasite. Beginning to panic, he mentally screamed for Zane, who came immediately.

Jay hurriedly explained about the fear he had, and Zane did a thorough examination of his brother’s body, hands cool and firm yet gentle as they sought any unusual wounds or markings on Jay’s slightly tanned skin. Zane found nothing unusual, and Jay felt a surge of embarrassment.

 _What makes you think that something is taking your energy?_ Zane asked as he helped Jay in taking a few sips of water to moisten his mouth and throat.

 _I don’t know, it’s just weird that I reacted like that. I shoulda been fine but no, I go into a coma. Something’s not adding up about it, and I don’t know why._ Jay sighed in frustration, and he would’ve hit his fist against the sheets if he wasn’t so stiff and still so exhausted.

 _We will find out what happened. In the meantime, just focus on resting and regaining your energy. Cole, Kai, Nya, and myself are fine and will be able to get you and Lloyd away if we are discovered,_ Zane said as he held Jay’s hand for a moment. _I need to make lunch now. If there’s anything you need, don’t be afraid to speak up._

 _You got it._ Zane’s hand pulled away and he exited the room, leaving Jay to be alone once more.

* * *

 “Y’know, you are more than welcome to use the training facility,” Nya said over a lunch of grilled meat-and-cheese sandwiches, baked beans, and salad. “If you do get that bored and you need something physical to do.”

“Wait, you have an indoor training facility?” Cole’s eyes widened as she nodded and pointed to a wall to the left of the giant TV.

“State of the art and quite fantastic. It’s basically the only reason why I even come back to this place sometimes.” She speared a piece of lettuce on the tines of her fork, watching the dressing drip from it for a moment before popping it in her mouth. “Also fully stocked with a variety of actual weapons, so don’t rip a hole through the walls or hurt each other.”

“What weapons are you talking about?” Lloyd inquired, mismatched gaze sparkling with interest as he looked up from his plate.

“The standard ones like swords, shurikens, nunchucks, scythes. And some kunai, chakrams, axes, I think I even have a bow with some arrows. I think.” She took another bite of her salad, acting as if she didn’t own an entire armory. “I do, however, have some kendo gear, so use that if you’re planning on roughing up the training facility.”

“Is there _anything_ you don’t have in this place?” Kai leaned forward and grabbed his glass of water, draining a third of it.

“An anti-demon system to prevent your kind from just waltzing in whenever you feel like it,” she deadpanned. “But seeing as literally none of the others can travel by shadow like you four, it’s not much of a high priority.”

“Hold on, you mean no other demon can...shadow-travel?” Cole breathed, cocking his head to the left with a confused look on his face. “But I thought shadow-travel was a basic necessity for demons!”

Nya leaned back in her seat, hands folded behind her head, and shrugged. “All the registered ones have been tested to see if they can, and none except for one could. Of course, seeing as that one exception was Shade, I can’t say I’m surprised.”

Kai snorted, flicking a few leftover beans across his plate with his fork. “You’d think _he_ was the one who invented shadow-travel from the way he rubs it in that he can do it without wasting too much energy. He can’t do anything else except do that, so I don’t understand why he thinks he’s so special.”

“I don’t get this whole ‘registered-unregistered’ thing. Why?” Cole asked. Nya sighed and leaned forward on the table, hand pushing her bangs out of the way. She continued to play with her food as she explained, “It’s basically just the city’s way of keeping easy tabs on the few demons we have in Ninjago City. As long as you four don’t leave this place, you don’t need to worry about it.” Cole nodded once in understanding, basic concept of it grasped.

They continued to talk for a few more minutes until Nya’s phone started vibrating, halting the conversation about ceiling fans, and she glanced at it before sighing heavily. She picked it up and fired off a quick reply before setting it back down and standing up, saying, “I gotta go. Duty calls. I’ll be back before too long.” She then ran down the hallway, already working on getting rid of her tunic as she sprinted.

“What does Nya even do for a job?” Lloyd asked once him and the three demons watched her fly through the air, having left through a window in her room.

“She’s a hunter,” Cole answered as if that was going to be enough.

“What Cole means is that she has the task of hunting down rogue demons and other supernatural and magical creatures,” Zane clarified, seeing the still-confused look on Lloyd’s face. “One of the few to be created for that purpose, and one of two from the original hunters left alive. The hunters were created after there was a rebellion of several magic creatures in an attempt to take care of the rebellion, and take care of it they did. The Glacier Barrens were not always as empty as they are now, and even thousands of years later it still remains void and desolate, a testament to the war the hunters waged against the rebellious creatures.”

“Wait, I remember that. That’s where we met Nya for the first time,” Kai added, still playing with the last three beans on his plate. “She was so feisty but also kinda didn’t know what the fuck she was doing. It was rather adorable until the actual fighting. Good thing she’s a quick learner and she backed into me just before a vampire got to her. A quick spark is all what it took to send that leach up in flames.”

Lloyd choked on his sandwich. “Vampires? But vampires are extinct!”

“Not entirely,” Cole countered as he winced. “Them and a few others like werewolves, fairies, that whole group still exist, just in small communities far away from any sort of human contact. If you’re not wizard or human or demon, then you’re kinda fucked. Just look at the Serpentine and how they were treated.” He opened his hands as if expecting someone to object to what he said, to which everyone remained quiet.

“So, you’re all friends with a hunter who could be ordered to kill you if you do something wrong? Did I get that right?”

“Basically. But do we care? No, not at all, because even the best hunter can’t take down the four most powerful demons.” Kai leaned back in his seat, a cocky smirk on his lips as he raised his shoulders in an arrogant shrug.

Lloyd was going to ask more questions about the hunters but was interrupted by Zane pushing the kid’s plate closer to him, reminding Lloyd to finish eating. Lloyd did so, finishing off the sandwich and baked beans in a few bites. After swallowing the last bit, he asked about the training facility Nya mentioned, curious about it.

“Let’s check it out, then.” Cole got up and walked over to the wall that the hunter had pointed out, and hit a switch. The wall opened to reveal a large training room with four revolving parts with three different types of dummies to each, and mounted on the walls across the entrance and to the right were weapons of all sorts, some Nya included and others were rather odd-looking.

Zane found a button that lowered the four cylinders as Lloyd stared at the mounted weapons, feeling overwhelmed by the amount of possible danger the entire room contained. He only knew the obvious basic weapons, and he watched Kai walk past him to where several metal whips hung on the wall, taking one down and folding it up into thirds, holding onto the middle portion.

“Why does Nya feel the need to have so many chain whips? I thought she used a sword and chakram and nothing else.” He did a few moves with it still folded up, moving his way to the center of the training area. He did a final jump and flung the flagged blade outwards. He then pulled it back and started swinging it underhandedly a few times before turning ninety degrees to the left, the chain wrapping around his elbow. He grabbed it and then spun back around, releasing the chain. He did it three more times before spinning in a full circle, letting the blade whip around in complete rotations before catching it around his back and neck, landing in a crouch on the floor. He stood back up, throwing the chain off, and began spinning it underhand once more and letting it catch around his elbow, repeating what he did earlier. He then caught it around his neck and guided it under his right arm before spinning the opposite way to release it.

Lloyd watched with owl-like eyes as Kai then proceeded to spin the chain whip beneath him, twisting in the air over the flying chain. The kid was scared the chain was going to wrap around an ankle and injure the demon, but Kai stopped with the stunt and instead chose to spin in a circle, following the momentum of the chain as he raised it up over his head. He gave it a few more spins before yanking it back into his hand, staring at it in appreciation.

“I think Jay would like this,” the demon said as he returned it to its home on the wall. “Maybe the reason why Nya has all these weapons is because she knew we’d need them one day for whatever reason.” He then walked over to a covered table and pulled the sheet off it. It slipped from his hand as he breathed, “Holy _shit_. What does she do in her spare time?”

Lloyd, as well as Zane and Cole, walked over to the table as Kai picked up something that resembled a taser pulse stun gun, but it was solid black with blue lightning streaks on the sides. The fire demon held it up for a moment as if he was going to fire it and then retracted his arm, still staring at the weapon in confusion.

“She’s...just a casual weapon collector?” Cole tried as he plucked a double-bladed scythe off the wall, examining the curved blades on either side before withdrawing his own golden scythe, comparing blade sizes and designs. “She has good taste in scythe blades, I’ll give her credit for that,” he commented, nodding in approval at the design of the double-bladed scythe he held.

“She does have a strange hobby, if collecting weapons is her thing,” Zane commented. He looked a little disappointed in the lack of shurikens, and grew even more disappointed as he only saw kunai and chakrams.

“Zane, you’re pretty good with the _kusarigama_ , right?” Cole asked as he held one up, eyeing the sickle’s blade. Zane nodded, still preferring shurikens for his weapon of choice if someone had to make him choose.

“Jay is better than me at it, though,” the ice demon replied, to which Kai snorted as he finally set down the stun gun and moved onto the swords.

“Jay’s better than _all_ of us at chain weapons,” he countered. “Sure, he likes his nunchucks, but give him anything with a chain and he’ll be kicking more asses than all of us combined. There’s only so much you can do with weapons like swords, shurikens, and scythes.” He pulled a set of double swords of their sheaths and gave them a few experimental swings, testing the weight of them and how well-balanced they felt.

Kai sheathed the swords and moved on to a single sword that was designed in such a pretty way Lloyd was pretty sure it wasn’t meant for use in battle. Ornate flames curled up from the hilt, eventually tapering off about a third up the blade. The grip was wrapped in well-oiled leather, the hilt colored a vibrant shade of iridescent red-orange. The weapon seemed made for Kai, and the fire demon carefully removed it from its home, notched eyebrow raised as he examined it carefully before testing it out the same way he did with the double swords, giving it a few swings and thrusts with it. He frowned as he returned it to its place on the wall, complaining under his breath that there was too much weight in the hilt.

“Lloyd, how skilled are you at fighting?” Zane suddenly asked, turning to look at the kid with a calculating look in his eyes.

“Quite good, actually. My favorite technique is running away before I get my ass kicked,” Lloyd answered. “Um, why?”

“You...can’t fight, can you?” Cole turned away from the scythes.

Lloyd looked down, watching himself drag the tip of his shoe across the floor. “Not without magic.”

“Then we’ll teach you.” Kai walked over to the kid and slung an arm around his shoulders. “We’ve got this fantastic training facility with all these different weapons, and lots of time to kill. Give us a chance, and we can turn you into quite the fighting machine. Who knows, there may be a time where we get separated, making you have to rely on yourself for your own protection. It’ll put my mind at ease knowing you can defend yourself.”

“Is that what you were wanting to say, Zane?” Lloyd looked up at the demon, who nodded in confirmation. “Then when do we start?”

Cole cracked his knuckles, starting to grin. “There’s no better time like the present.”

* * *

 Nya came home later that night to find three demons and a fledgling wizard collapsed on the floor of the training facility, red-faced and breathing heavily. She watched as Kai raised a hand and hit it against Lloyd’s arm, praising him for a good first day of training. Lloyd weakly batted the demon’s hand away and then slowly pushed himself, wincing as if his abdomen was sore.

“Glad to see you guys putting the training facility to use,” she commented, eyeing the mess they’d made in her absence. They turned to look at her, Cole rolling onto his stomach and propping himself up on his forearms, acting as though he’d never been wounded not even a week earlier.

“We decided we might as well since there’s nothing else to do while we wait for Jay to finally roll out of bed. How was today? Any rowdy registered demons you needed to subdue?”

She rolled her eyes as she started setting her hunter armor on the table, unfastening and unbuckling the complex-looking suit. “Griffin Turner got pulled over for speeding, and Chamille was caught trying to pass off as a prison guard to release a few members of a biker gang, which is why I was called in. Pixal was a bit of a chilly bitch, but she kinda lowkey is one all the time. Nothing else happened, really.” She raked her fingers through her hair, then asked, “Is Jay still not out of bed yet?”

“Give him some more time; he will come around eventually. If there was an electrical storm on the way, he’d recover much faster,” Zane said, sitting up and spinning around.

“What if we just attached jumper cables to him? Or hung him over a powerline?” Kai suggested, a mischievous glint shining in his red-orange eyes. He was laughing a few seconds later, Cole and Zane snorting in amusement as well.

“Jay just told us to fuck off and said that he was not going to be attached to jumper cables or be hung over a powerline like a shirt on a clothesline,” Cole explained to a confused-looking Lloyd and Nya, still snickering. “At least his attitude is still there.”

“Whatever would we do without it?” Zane proposed in jest, his cerulean blue-gray eyes glimmering as he regarded his fellow demons, who shrugged with large grins on their faces The ice demon stood up and announced that he was going to check on Jay to make sure the lightning demon was faring well.

“Oh, Nya, out of curiosity, what do you do in your free time that requires you to have so many weapons?” Cole inquired after Zane had left, sitting up and turning to face her. She merely smirked and sashayed out of the room, saying it was for her to know and for them to find out. Kai made a face at her retreating back before turning to Lloyd.

“Do you want to keep going or have you had enough for the day?” the fire demon asked as he helped the kid to his feet.

“I’m done. I’m already stiff like hell,” the fledgling answered, wincing as he started to hobble out of the training room. “I feel like I need a massage after today.”

“Zane’s pretty good with his hands; I’m sure if you asked him, he’d be more than willing to give you one,” Cole said, moving much more smoothly than Lloyd. “I’ve gotten a few and I slept like the dead afterwards.”

“More like during,” Kai snickered. “Two minutes in and you’re already passed out.”

“Is he really that good?” Lloyd’s eyes were huge, and the two other demons nodded. Cole handed the kid a glass of ice water, and Lloyd chugged it in five gulps, handing the empty glass back to the earth demon before limping down the hall, no doubt with the intention of changing clothes at the very least.

 _Zane, did you hear that?_ Kai asked through the bond as he and Cole started to playfully exchange punches.

_I did indeed. Does Nya have any lotion I could use?_

Cole snorted before answering. _She’s a female. Of course she’s gonna have lotion. I don’t know one female who doesn’t have five bottles of it just laying around. Did you check the bathrooms?_

 _Found some,_ Zane said a few minutes later. _Do you think Lloyd will have a problem with smelling like frosted strawberries, musk, and amber?_

_What, no sunshine-y scents? Nothing that smells like a field of wildflowers in the summer? He reminds me of daisies. And I don’t know why._

_Is it because of his small, delicate nature?_ Kai inquired, staring at Cole out of his peripherals with a smirk on his lips.

_The kid’s not the most delicate thing, y’know. He’s a machine, a tank of power. A tank that ran out of gas, sure, but a tank, nonetheless._

_Glad to know you’re up, Jay,_ Cole answered. _But I thought we agreed that_ I _was the tank here?_

_Whatever. My point is the kid’s not weak. Did you not feel the strength coming from him when we first showed up? He’s got lots of potential and give him enough training in both fighting and honing his magic, he’ll probably be stronger than Cole._

_But that’s impossible! I’m the strongest in all of Ninjago!_ Cole protested, flexing even though only Kai—and Nya as she walked back into the kitchen, now changed out of her hunter gear—could see him. Nya raised an eyebrow at the earth demon’s display of strength, looking unimpressed and bored almost. She looked at Kai, who said “Bond” in an explanation. She nodded in understanding and pulled out one of the beers she’d bought almost a week ago, popping it open and taking a long draft from it.

 _Don’t pull a muscle; I said probably,_ Jay was saying. Kai felt his older brother’s sigh and then the lightning demon was tiredly asking if there was an oncoming storm where he could go outside and regain his energy that way.

“Is there a storm expected to pass over soon?” Cole relayed the message to Nya, who sadly shook her head.

“Sorry to disappoint, but we’re not expecting any storms for quite some time.” She shrugged apologetically, and Cole relayed the message to Jay through the bond.

 _Fucking damn it,_ Jay grumbled. _Someone just haul my ass to the Floating Ruins and zap me back to life. Please. I am begging you, just do it. Just zap me back to life._

 _Hey, you’ll get your energy back. Stay positive,_ Kai told him. Jay let out a frustrated sigh and then retorted, _Oh wait, that’s right. I’m supposed to think positive in situations like these. How could I forget? What I meant to say was ‘Yay, I get to sleep as much as I desire while being absolutely helpless and useless to anyone and everyone here. I get to be lazy and oh my gosh it’s just the most wonderful thing ever! I don’t want my energy to come back because then that means I have to work again, and who wants to work? No one, that’s who! Oh, and if we are attacked by something, at least you have a scapegoat to use as a distraction while everyone gets away!’_ He huffed. _Was that better?_

Kai turned to look at Cole, thinking it over for a moment. _I’ll take it,_ the fire demon answered cheekily. Cole rolled his eyes and shoulder checked Kai with a slight glare.

 _We’re not leaving you behind if we are attacked,_ the earth demon said firmly. _We don’t leave each other behind, no matter what. You know that, Jay._

 _I’m sorry. I’m just really fucking tired of being able to do nothing useful._ An irritated energy spiked from his end of the bond, and the other three felt sympathetic for him; they knew all too well what it was like to be laid up like for so long with nothing to do, and it was miserable.

 _Don’t worry, Jay. You will get your energy back, and you will be able to join us once more,_ Zane spoke up. _I will keep an eye on the weather to look for electrical storms. As soon as I see one, I will let you know._

_Thanks, Zane. Such a good older brother you are._

_I do my best._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long since I wrote this I don't even remember what this chapter was about, but both my betas say it's fine so...I guess it's fine
> 
> Thanks for reading, feel free to kudo/comment, have a good day/night, and I'll catch you all next time :)


	6. The chapter that was written was I bored, unmotivated, and losing brain cells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Both my betas have told me to just go ahead and publish the chapters as soon as I'm done with them because of their busy schedules, so every other Wednesday a new chapter will be updated until the end of January unless I manage to get more chapters written before I run out of previously written chapters.
> 
> This started out decent for the first few paragraphs, but then took a wrong turn, got lost, didn't realize it for fifty miles, whenever it did realize that it was lost, it was out in the middle of a desert, had to walk another forty miles to find a gas station to ask for directions, then found itself back on the right track. This was wild to write.
> 
> Anyways, enjoy

It had been a month since Lloyd and his demons had taken up residence in Nya’s apartment, and a few things had happened since the attack of the Serpentine and the loss of Wu. First, Jay finally regained his energy plus some due to a storm heavy in lightning that crossed over Ninjago City, and was now back to his normal cheerful self. Second, Lloyd was slowly getting the hang of all the fighting techniques that his demons were teaching him, even though they reminded him to just leave all the fighting to them. Third, everyone had become ragingly whipped and soft for Lloyd, especially when he was wrapped up in a large blanket and being cuddled by one of the demons and cooing over him like the baby he is.

Like now, actually.

Lloyd was passed out on the couch, exhausted from the morning’s intense bout of training. Kai had his arms wrapped securely around the kid, internally cooing over how fluffy the little fledgling was curled up against him. The fringe of his bangs was caught in his eyelashes, a barely noticeable pink flush dusting his cheeks. He looked so peaceful, so content, that Kai was reminded of a fluffy and small kitten that had exhausted itself during an intense session of play.

_Someone, get me a juice box and animal crackers. I think he’s gonna wake up soon,_ Kai said, noticing that Lloyd was beginning to shift positions in the way he unconsciously did shortly before waking up.

_What, don’t feel like being on the receiving end of his post-nap crankiness?_ Jay teased as he walked past on his way to fetch what Kai had requested. Kai scowled and flipped him a middle finger, to which Jay grinned mischievously before tossing the fire demon a juice box and a small bag of animal crackers previously prepped.

Lloyd came to a few minutes later, yawning and stretching before burying his face into Kai’s neck, too used to how the fire demon was cuddling him to be bothered by it. Jay and Kai uwu-ed together over the bond, both demons staring at the kid with obnoxiously soft and fond gazes.

_You’re gonna scare him with how much you two obsessively stare at him,_ Cole snorted as he padded into the room on silent feet, eyes narrowed slightly.

_Parents stare at their sleeping babies all the time, so why can’t we?_ Jay sniffed, reaching out to gently rake his hands through Lloyd’s messy hair. _I find him to be absolutely, positively ridiculously adorable. Seriously, who allowed him to be this cute?_

_Stop bothering him,_ Kai gently chided as he readied the juice box and slipped it into Lloyd’s hands when he started reaching for it. The kid let out a purr, relaxing back into Kai’s arms with a content look on his face, eyes still closed.

_Is this how I die? It’s not Serpentine, it’s not poison, it’s not war-related or anything, but instead from how cute he is?_ Jay pondered, clutching his chest with both hands in a dramatic gesture. Cole rolled his eyes but secretly agreed with what Jay said; Lloyd really was so cute he could possibly be the death of all of them.

And that was a death, they decided, they wouldn’t mind having.

Lloyd finished the juice box and moved onto the animal crackers, gnawing at them instead of biting off pieces. He was still working at finishing off the crackers when Zane entered the apartment, a gravely apathetic expression on his face.

Immediately Cole straightened up, asking across the bond, _Zane, is something the matter?_

_It is only a minor inconvenience,_ the ice demon replied in an aloof manner. His energy may have been casual and nonchalant, but if Cole really focused, he could sense worry nibbling at his elder brother.

_What do you mean? Are we in danger?_ Kai looked up, starting to grow anxious.

_It is not that severe, although we may have to leave within a few days for safety reasons. Do not worry about it, Kai._ The soothing way Zane spoke calmed Kai, and he nodded before smiling softly at Lloyd readjusting Kai's limbs to a more comfortable position.

"Hey, don't fall back asleep, kid," Jay said, poking at Lloyd's forehead. Lloyd grumbled and swiped at the offensive hand, giving the lightning demon a half-hearted middle finger.

"Why is everyone flipping you off today?" Cole inquired. Jay shrugged ("How should I know?") before removing the used and crumpled juice box and retreated to the kitchen to discard it. He returned and flopped onto the couch next to Kai, dragging the kid off his lap and onto his own. Lloyd swiped at the lightning demon in irritation, looking like a grumpy cat at the sudden movement as he continued to gnaw at the crackers.

“I was perfectly fine and comfortable, so why did you have to move me?” Lloyd grumbled even as he adjusted Jay’s limbs to better suit himself before snuggling back down. He pulled the hood of his oversized sweatshirt down, hiding his face.

“My legs were falling asleep, that’s why,” Kai explained while Jay said in a sing-song voice, “I wanted to cuddle you too!” He squeezed Lloyd so tightly that the kid became winded, all the air having been forced out of his lungs by the intensity of the crushing hug.

“And you have just lost your privilege to cuddle Lloyd,” Cole deadpanned as he plucked Lloyd from Jay’s vice-like grip. “You’re the demon of lightning, not a Constrictai.” He ignored Jay’s protest as Lloyd got comfortable, leaning back against Cole’s chest with a smug look on his face.

From behind the couch, Zane sighed in unsurprised disappointment and merely shook his head at his younger brothers arguing over who got to cuddle the kid, who sat there amidst the commotion, seemingly enjoying himself. Jay was whining, Kai was snickering, and Cole was listing off all the reasons why he should be the main demon Lloyd cuddled with during naps.

“How about you all take turns?” Zane finally suggested once he grew tired of listening to their arguing. “Rotate so that none of you get more naps than the other two.”

“Yeah! I like that. Kai, you’re relieved of cuddling duty until further notice.” Lloyd wiggled his shoulders, pressing back against Cole and ignoring Kai’s bewildered look.

“You’re casting me off to the side just like that?”

“I’m not sending you back to wherever you guys were when I summoned you, am I?” Lloyd returned, still snacking on the animal crackers. "You should be thanking me for not doing that, not that I can because I don't wanna have the others to leave too, and then there's the whole magic thing which we are all very familiar with." He continued to happily finish off the crackers, ignoring Kai's gobsmacked stare.

_The nerve of this kid,_ the fire demon said, sounding slightly offended.

Jay grinned, snickering slightly. _He didn't mean that in a bad way, Kai. Stop getting so offended over every last detail. He was kidding about that._ Aloud he asked, "You were kidding about that, right?"

"Of course I was. I've grown too attached to just simply throw you four out of my life on a whim." He snuggled up against Cole even more, perfectly content with where he was. “Besides, what am I gonna do? Putz around Nya’s apartment and be her adopted kid?” A look of mischievous thought crossed the kid’s face, to which Jay automatically said, “No, not happening.”

As Jay and Lloyd started arguing over why the fledgling couldn’t be Nya’s adopted kid, Zane sighed through his mouth slowly, mentally counting at a calm tempo to the count of ten. During those ten seconds, Kai and Cole had joined in on the bickering, so now all four were arguing like little children. Zane’s levels of exasperation rose with the volume of their voices, until Kai was breaking off and commenting loudly while looking at Zane, “You look stressed.”

“It is nothing,” Zane replied as calmly as ever. “After all, it is my duty as the eldest to babysit the children, is it not?”

"We're not children, though," Kai protested as he and Jay flopped over the back of the couch, almost kicking Lloyd in the process. The fledgling glared at them from overtop Cole's arms wrapped protectively around him, the earth demon also fixing them with a glare.

"You will have to try harder to convince me that you are not," the ice demon countered smoothly as he tugged the long sleeves of his shirt further up his arms, revealing his pale forearms and barely visible veins that gave a webbed texture to his skin. Lloyd noticed the white stripes of long ago scars littering Zane's forearms, some small and thin, others large and jagged. As Zane raised a hand to scratch the back of his head, Lloyd also noticed a long, diagonal slash across the ice demon's palm, starting at the base of his pinkie and ending at the heel of his hand below his thumb.

"Just a scar from a long time ago," Zane answered after Lloyd had asked where the scar on his hand had come from. "We all have them."

"On your hands?"

Jay snickered, holding his open palms out to Lloyd. They had a few scars but were mostly well-callused instead, rough from his life of fighting. The lightning demon explained as Lloyd continued to examine his hands, "Only Zane has those particular scars. Mine are more on the arms, same with Kai as you may have noticed from him being shirtless so damn much. Cole-"

"Almost got his nipple taken off once," the earth demon interrupted. "There was a lot of blood. Hurt like a bitch. Not fun. I was scared about it for a good while, not gonna lie."

Lloyd turned to stare at him, eyes wide and mouth open in a slight 'D' shape. "I'm sorry, you what?"

Cole shifted Lloyd and then pulled his shirt up. Jay pretended to gag at the extremely casual exposure of the earth demon's torso, hardened and thick muscles rippling beneath his olive-toned skin with every movement. Cole flipped the younger demon off as Lloyd stared at the long scar that ran from the demon's right collarbone down to a point that was level with the beginning of his waist, running right past the darkened peak at such a proximity that made Lloyd's own chest hurt just by looking at it. He also noticed the black dragon head tattooed over Cole’s heart, identical to Kai’s except instead of fire it was an imitation of rugged mountains.

“Ow,” Lloyd said, eyes still owl-like. Cole chuckled at the reaction and lowered his shirt, tugging the kid back into place on his lap, arms wrapped around him.

“Yeah, a lot of shit happened that fight. Funnily enough, none of us have nipples in our true forms, so-"

“Imma stop you right there, Cole, because what you just said is a lie. I have nipples in my true form, Zane has nipples in his true form, hell even fucking Jay has nipples in his true form. Have you never noticed that before?” Kai interrupted, hands slowly rubbing up and down on his own chest, a sly glint in his eyes.

“I’m usually too busy fighting to be worried about whether or not we have nipples in our true forms, so I can’t necessarily say that I have noticed the presence or lack of said nipples. We’ll be fighting for our lives, and your main concern is if we have nipples or not?”

“I am disgusted, I am revolted, I have dedicated my entire life to being a pure, innocent boy and _this_ is the thanks I get?” Lloyd announced as he peeled Cole’s arms off and stood up, intending to climb into the dryer and never emerge. "The moment Nya walks in through the door, I am asking her if she can adopt me."

"Don't abandon us, Lloyd," Jay said in a severe pout, completely oblivious to Zane exasperatingly dragging both hands down his face, looking the most done Lloyd had ever seen the ice demon as an intense sigh came from within the deepest depths of said demon's chest, expressing so perfectly what words could not in that one exhale.

"I think Zane's ready to drop-kick us out the window." Cole finally saw how done Zane was, and the ice demon responded through a close-lipped smile in a tight voice, "Indeed, I would be very amused if I did so. I am not above that, contrary to popular belief amongst us."

_I don't get it._

_Of course you don't. Do you truly get anything, Kai?_ Zane returned smoothly. Jay choked on a laugh, turning it into a cough as Lloyd stared with a mix of emotions flashing through his eyes.

"Swallowed saliva down the wrong pipe," Jay said in a breathless voice. Lloyd slowly nodded, looking confused and not entirely convinced but decided not to question it regardless. The front door opened, drawing their attention to it, and Lloyd scampered over to Nya, flinging himself into her arms.

"Please adopt me and save me from them," he begged, staring up at her with large, pleading eyes. "They're crazy and they're weird. I don't wanna be around them anymore. Please let me be your adopted kid, Nya."

"What did you guys say to him?" she asked, still allowing the kid to snuggle up against her.

"We were just talking about nipples," Kai answered, a slight pout downturning his pursed lips. "Nothing much else. It's not like I was telling him of the time I opened up and gutted several tens of Serpentine, watching their blood-hey!" He broke off into a yelp as Zane leaned over and smacked the youngest demon upside the head hard.

"No such thing ever happened," Zane said as he leveled an icy glare towards Kai. "Kai is merely sprouting bullshit like always."

"Please, Nya, I am begging you to adopt me. I'm a good bean, I'll do my chores, dinner may not be the best but I'll try. Just _please adopt me_." Lloyd pulled the biggest puppy eyes as he could, wanting her to say yes.

She put a hand flat against the top of his head, waited a few seconds, then dramatically announced, "You are adopted, my child. But you can't get rid of demons that easily, especially demons you summoned."

Jay bounded over and gripped Lloyd in a crushing hug, squealing over Lloyd's breathless gasp, "Isn't that wonderful news, Lloyd! We still get to cuddle you even though Nya's your new mom!"

"Don't break the couch, damn it. I kinda like it and would very much like to continue using it. If you're going to wrestle and play all rough-and-tumble on it, then you can go wrestle in the training room and put that energy into training Lloyd a bit more?”

“But I already trained today!” Lloyd complained before he was drowned out by three very enthusiastic hollers of agreement. Cole, Jay, and Kai bundled up Lloyd and they dragged him into the training room, ignoring Lloyd’s screeches of protest.

Zane and Nya exchanged exasperated looks with each other, and Nya walked over to put a reassuring hand on the ice demon’s shoulder. “You’ll be fine,” she said. “If you have to, just take Lloyd and ditch the other three.”

“If only it was as easy as that to get rid of them; alas, I cannot, even if I did want to leave them behind,” Zane answered. “The bond we four share makes sure of that.”

“Blessing and a curse, then.”

Zane let out another sigh, his fourth one within the past ten minutes. “Indeed, a blessing and a curse.” A high-pitched scream came from the training facility, dragging both of their attentions to the open entryway. They looked up just in time to see Lloyd dragging himself across the floor, desperation shining in his mismatched eyes.

“You’re not getting away from us that easily, kiddo!” Kai pounced on him and grabbed him by the ankles, dragging Lloyd back into the facility, ignoring the fledgling’s pleas to let him go. The door shut, sealing off the facility, and  Zane and Nya watched the scene with eyebrows slightly raised, neither of them moving to help Lloyd.

“I have a feeling we’re going to need some ice when they’re done with him,” Zane commented as him and Nya flipped a movie on, turning the volume up slightly.

“Then it’s a good thing you’re here to take care of that,” the hunter joked, making Zane crack a small smile as he softly uttered “Indeed” in response.

They had finished the movie and were fifteen minutes into another one when the door finally opened. Lloyd came limping out, looking like an utter wreck with messy hair and sweaty, flushed skin. He hobbled over to Zane and curled up next to the ice demon on the couch, resting his head on his left thigh. Zane began combing his fingers through the sweat-matted locks, easing the tangles out of it.

“What did they do to you?” he asked softly. Lloyd shook his head, too tired to say anything. Lifting his head, Zane glared at the three faces that had poked themselves around the corner, demanding over the bond, _What did you three do to him?_

_We tested his flexibility,_ Kai began as Jay added, _We really focused on building his core,_ and Cole finished with, _He got pissed at me and hit me with a bo staff right in the neck. The kid may be small, but damn he’s got some good strength. I think I have a bruise,_ the earth demon sniffed.

_What I’m hearing is that you tortured him until he snapped and used a bo staff as a baseball bat._

_Yeah, pretty much. Maybe if we give him a nail-studded bat, it’ll be good enough for him to use as a weapon. He’d be able to shred some snakes quite well with it,_ Jay offered, excitement gleaming in his blue eyes.

_I forbid it,_ Zane deadpanned, still untangling Lloyd’s hair with his fingers. _He would end up becoming more of a danger to himself, and I would like to avoid him getting involved with any and all battles we may have no choice but to fight in. Unless you want to be the one to suture him back together again?_

“Oh boy, wasn’t that fun! I think I’m going to shower now!” Jay loudly announced, strutting to the hallway to start down to his room. “There’s nothing like some good exercise to get the blood pumping, yeehaw!” He gave a dramatic wave and then vanished.

Cole and Kai headed into the kitchen to get some food. Cole poured himself a bowl of cereal, but after eating one spoonful of it declared, “This makes me feel like I’m a horse because of how it tastes.” Kai turned his head and said as seriously as he could, “Neigh neigh, motherfucker.”

Cole choked on a pecan and ended up having milk come out his nose at the same time somehow. Zane and Nya both turned their heads to stare at the mess going on in the kitchen, while in Zane’s lap Lloyd deliriously giggled, “Neigh neigh, motherfucker,” before slowly drifting off to sleep. Zane looked down at the passed out fledgling, looked at the clock, and sighed. He had reached a new level of tired he thought he couldn’t feel, but he felt mentally and emotionally drained even though he had done little that would have caused the exhaustion.

He wished that, just for once, someone else could deal with the bullshit his younger brothers came up so he could take a self-care day and mediate his worries away.

* * *

“I don’t wanna leave, though! I wanna stay with Nya!” Lloyd whined four days later as the demons were packing up, each filling a large backpack with different essentials enough to last for a few weeks. The fledgling was wrapped around Nya, refusing to let go even as Zane tried to coax him to release her.

Cole zipped his backpack up and slung it over his shoulders, adjusting the dark brown jean vest he wore over a tight black tee shirt. “Lloyd, we’ll come back and visit her, I promise,” the earth demon said as he reached back behind his head and pulled a portion of hair back, tying it into a messy knot before sliding a headband up his face and adjusting it until it was just right. “It’s just we gotta move to a new location for a little bit, that’s all.”

Lloyd pouted, still clinging to the hunter. “I’m her adopted kid, though,” he mumbled, pout increasing every second. “You can’t take me from her.”

“Is that a challenge?” Kai said, notched eyebrow and the left corner of his mouth quirked upwards as he pulled on his black, fingerless gloves. “Because if it, then I accept. I’ve always loved a good challenge.”

Lloyd squawked as Kai started over to him, releasing Nya and running around to hide behind Zane, who looked like a tired father who was running on thirty minutes of sleep at any given moment during the past four days. There were bags beneath his cerulean blue-gray eyes, and his skin had taken on a slight gray color in some areas, sharpening his features. He looked worn and tired, like he needed a nap of eight hours of undisturbed sleep.

“Thank you for letting us stay here,” the tired ice demon said to Nya, who shrugged with a pleased smile on her face.

“I missed you guys, and it was great having you five here. Gave me something to look forward to after a boring day of work. Feel free to drop by anytime; this place will always be open to you guys.”

“Hear that, Lloyd? You can come back,” Kai said.

“Yeehaw!” Lloyd yelled. “Wait, why are we even leaving? We’re safe here.”

“You’ve been cooped up inside for too long. You need some fresh air, so we’ve decided to take you backpacking through Ninjago. Meet some new people, try new things, get out of your comfort zone,” Jay announced. “Don’t worry, we’ll be back in Ninjago City before too long.”

Lloyd still looked disappointed but nodded in reluctant agreement, mumbling “Okay” under his breath. He trudged slowly to the door and picked up his own backpack, sliding his arms through the loops and tightening the straps until it was comfortable.

“We’ll be off, then. See you around,” Cole said, opening the door. Nya nodded and the five males slipped into the hallway and started for the stairs.

“You remember the way out of here without attracting the attention of those damn robots, right?” Lloyd asked as they entered an alleyway.

“I do,” Zane said. He took the lead, keeping to the alleys when possible and sticking close to buildings when forced onto sidewalks. They made it to the edge of NInjago City in thirty minutes with no incidents, and they spread out in a line, Lloyd taking the center position.

“Where to first?” the fledgling asked after some minutes of walking, his boots sending up small puffs of dust with each step.

“I was thinking Jamanakai Village? Always loved that place. Small, cute, tucked away,” Kai input. Lloyd nodded, agreeing to it, and they turned a little to the right and started northeast.

They walked all day, and by the time they found an area to make camp, the sun had almost completely set. Kai made the fire in three seconds while Cole set up a camouflage barrier around them, making them blend into the desert. Zane pulled out the sandwiches he’d made earlier, each encased in a thin block of ice that had been enchanted to not melt. He handed everyone one, and the ice fell away.

“How is there no water in this?” Lloyd held his sandwich up, eyeing it suspiciously. The bread was still soft, not stiff from the chill of the ice or wet because of it.

"Zane has magic ice. This happens all the time, really. He says a magic word and boom, soft and water-free sandwiches." Jay took a massive bite out of his, clearly enjoying it. Lloyd still look suspicious though, and took a tiny nibble out of it. He then attacked it viciously, ripping into it like a starving animal.

"Slow down, grasshopper. You're gonna choke if you keep eating that fast," Kai said, staring at the kid devouring his sandwich. Lloyd paused for a breather and to defend himself ("What? I'm hungry. Bite me, Kai.") before tearing into it again.

Once they'd all finished eating, Kai amused Lloyd by twisting the flames into different shapes. Dragons, birds, insects, making them move around before combusting into sparks and smoke. Lloyd was fascinated, attention rapt on the dancing shapes, and he squeaked in such a way that it made all four demons bust out in uwu's as Kai made a dragon settle itself around his shoulders, clothes not catching on fire because of the same energy that prevents Zane's ice from melting.

"Hey, Cole, since you said you felt like a horse the other day…" Kai created a centaur with Cole's torso and sent it galloping around the earth demon in circles, the fire demon smirking as he said, "Neigh neigh, motherfucker."

"Hey, I've got one for you." Cole took a rock and covered it between both hands. Glaring at it for a few moments, he then removed the top hand and shook the pieces of removed rock from his palm, wiping the dirt on the thigh of his darkly colored jeans. Cole tossed the small statue to Kai, who caught it easily and glared at it when he saw that it was in the shape of a donkey with his name carved into the left flank.

"Really?" Kai was not amused.

"It's because you're an ass, Kai," Cole explained easily, leaning back against a boulder. "And if you like that one so much, I'll make a bigger one for you."

"No thanks," the fire demon huffed as he tossed it back to Cole, who caught it with a chuckle and then crushed it to dust in his hand.

As the two bantering demons were joined by Jay and Lloyd, Zane closed his eyes, finally getting a chance to meditate. He focused on his breathing, clearing his mind of any and all thoughts. A slow wave of peace came over him…

Before purple eyes stared up at him from an abyss of darkness, a mouth pulled back in a mean smile and revealing rows of sharpened fangs. The eyes and mouth moved, emerging from the abyss in a blob-like shape, a horrible screech coming from its mouth.

Zane found himself running towards the darkness with his brothers and a fifth, their energies connected and synchronized. The earth shook, forming deep and jagged fissures, and from those fissures came warriors made of stone. Cole struck the earth, causing a large cliff to form, arching high over the heads of the army. Zane made the earth beneath the army's feet ice, causing them to lose their balance and slide every which way. Jay and Kai used their powers as well, clearing a path for the fifth member of their party to leap off the cliff Cole had made, lunging for the darkness.

Zane woke up in a sweat, breathing heavily. Opposite him sat Cole, a golden dragon hilt in his right hand, the other resting on top of Lloyd's head, which was on top of his thigh, right leg bent. The earth demon's energy was anxious, and he asked, _Are you okay?_

Zane sat up, stiff muscles protesting. _If I must be honest, no._

_Bad dream?_

_If only. A bad vision is more like it._

Curiosity and interest replaced the anxiety in Cole's energy. _A vision. You sure?_

Zane nodded, dread curling in his stomach as he remembered what it was. _I am hoping I am wrong, but until I get confirmation, please do not tell the others._ Cole glanced at Jay and Kai, sleeping just inches from each other, and the passed out kid on his lap.

_I promise I won't._

Zane licked his lips and swallowed. _I think...the Overlord has returned._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know what I was thinking when I wrote this back in June.
> 
> And now, a small PSA: I could use a little help. I've got four different endings planned but I can't choose which ending to stick with, so if you could vote on the poll on my Twitter (Gray @GC_AO3), it would be greatly appreciated. They're already pre-written, so it's just a matter of selecting which one to use.
> 
> Next chapter will be uploaded on 04 Dec, so feel free to comment/kudo, have a good day/night, and I'll catch y'all next time :)


	7. Blood Festival

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant to get this chapter up way, way earlier, but I didn't so please forgive me
> 
> And the ending for the story to be used is going to be Blizzard, so thank you for making the decision for me on that
> 
> With that being said, enjoy

The next morning, everyone agreed to fly the entire way to Jamanakai Village, touching down just a short distance away and walking into the tiny town. Paper lanterns were strung across the roads, and a sense of celebration hung heavy in the air. Jay asked a nearby vendor selling apples what the celebration was about while Lloyd stared across the street to a small shop that was selling costumes and matching masks. There was one in particular on display in the front window that seemed to call him over, and he left the group to get a better look.

The costume was made of loose material dyed a deep green color. The shirt had long sleeves and wide cuffs, the trim a shimmery gold. It was overlapped, the right half crossing over the left with a single button at the bottom to fasten the pieces together. The pants were similar, baggy like the shirt and with snug, gold cuffs just an inch above the ankle. Braided cords with a strip of silk woven throughout was tied around the model’s hips, the knot at the left side. The mask the mannequin was wearing was a green mask pulled up over the lower half of its face, intricate gold stitching forming an image of a dragon’s mouth and whiskers.

“...to stay here for the festival.” Cole’s voice broke through Lloyd’s focus on the costume. The fledgling turned to look at the approaching four demons, talking about the festival and all the things they would get to see, eat, and do. The earth demon noticed Lloyd in front of the costume shop and asked, “See something you like, Lloyd?”

Lloyd nodded, turning back to the green costume. “What’s the festival about?” he asked, still staring up at the outfit and imagining what it would feel like. It looked comfortable to wear, and he wondered if it was as soft as it appeared to be.

“It’s a tradition going back for centuries. Something about this incredibly dark force wanting to take over Ninjago and make it all black and evil and stuff. Anyways, these weird warriors started to attack the village and would have completely destroyed it if this, and I quote, ‘beautiful demon wreathed in flames with wings blazing like the sun’ hadn’t appeared and saved the entire place. So, to honor the demon for saving them, the villagers threw a festival in his honor, and they’ve done so faithfully ever since as a way to invoke the demon’s protection upon them.”

Lloyd slowly tore his gaze from the costume and looked up at Kai to his left. “Are you...referring to yourself? Is that why your ego is as big as it is?”

Kai clutched a hand to his chest, exaggerating a pained gasp. “You hurt me, child. I was merely doing my job and they decided to thank me by throwing a huge party. I did my best to deny it-”

“No, you did not,” Zane countered.

“-but when they would not be deterred, I humbly accepted-”

“You are the opposite of humble,” Jay snorted.

“-and now, I get a party lasting several days. And damn it, we are staying for the entire thing. Let’s get our outfits.” Kai replaced Cole’s arm with his around Lloyd’s shoulder and steered the kid inside the shop, the others slowly following them.

Lloyd asked the shopkeeper the price for the green costume that was displayed in the window, and he paled when he heard the price. His shoulders slumped and he started to sadly browse through the other costumes, trying to find another green uniform. He vaguely heard Kai speaking with the shopkeeper, and shortly afterwards, he felt Kai nudge his shoulder.

“You can have the one in the window if that’s the one you really want. I managed to convince her to lower the price,” the fire demon said, and Lloyd’s face exploded into a look of overwhelming happiness. He nodded eagerly, and Kai smiled as he returned to the shopkeeper and confirmed that it was the one the kid wanted. She stepped out from behind the counter and walked over to the window. She removed the mannequin and took it with her back to the counter, where she undid it and set the now-bare plastic model behind her in a corner as she folded the robes up and handed them to Lloyd for him to try on. He accepted the bundle happily, the material soft and thin between his fingers as he skipped to the changing room, pulling the curtain closed. He stripped of his street clothes and began pulling on the costume.

He stared at his reflection once he’d gotten dressed, the sleeves and pants a little too long for his small frame but not by too terribly much. He didn’t know that there were three more buttons holding the overlapped shirt together until he was actually putting it on, struggling a little as they were on the inside of the top piece. He finally managed the buttons, and tied the braided sash around his hips. The small dragon pendant he wore topped the outfit off, and Lloyd found himself in love with the costume even more. It was just seemed to have been made with him and only him in mind.

He pulled the curtain back and found himself walking into a half-circle formed by his demons, each with their own costume folded in their hands and waiting for him. They took one look at him and were silent for at least five seconds, probably screaming at each other over their bond about how good he looked. Zane finally cleared his throat and asked Lloyd if he was done. Lloyd nodded happily, bouncing around like he was on a sugar high. Kai paid for their costumes and the five headed back onto the streets, looking for a hotel to stay in for the festival.

They spent thirty minutes looking for a room, and finally found one, barely managing to squeeze into one of the few available rooms. Cole took the key and they headed to the room, dropping their backpacks off and giving the demons time to change into their own costumes. Lloyd flopped around on one of the beds like a fish as he waited, too excited to be still.

“Save that energy, grasshopper,” Kai teased as he stepped out, dressed in his costume. It was the color of blood, gold trim embroidered with the outline of flames. The top was sleeveless and open, stopping at the curve of his waist. His pants were similar to Lloyd’s in style but stopped mid-calf instead of reaching all the way to the ankle. Around his neck hung a mask, plain unlike Lloyd’s mask with the dragon’s mouth.

Lloyd slithered off the bed. “Sorry, but I’m just too excited.” Kai chuckled and rubbed his knuckles against the kid’s head, making his messy blond hair even messier. They got into a playful fight, exchanging light punches and smacks on each other’s arms and hands, waiting for the others.

“What are you two doing now?” Cole was next, dressed in black. The outfit he wore had three-quarter sleeves and pants reaching an inch above his ankles, gray for the trim. It was loose and baggy like Lloyd’s outfit, but unlike Lloyd’s shirt, which overlapped, Cole’s was straight, small buckles holding it close. He, too, had a mask hanging loose around his neck, completing the look.

Lloyd stopped and chirped, “Just playing around while we’re waiting for the others to finish. Looking good, Cole.” Cole lifted his shoulders, the bagginess of his clothes hiding how ripped he was, and flopped onto the bed Lloyd had been rolling around on.

Zane came out next, dressed in white with gold trim. His shirt was sleeveless like Kai’s, the neckline exposing the hollow of his clavicle before running down his sternum with thin buckles, holding the entire thing closed, unlike Cole’s which had a steep V-neck before the latches beginning at his midriff. His pants were the shortest of all of them, the gold cuffs reaching just beneath his knees.

“I do not know what he is doing, but Jay is doing something to his outfit,” the ice demon informed the others waiting for the last member of their group. “I think he’s trying to add another element to it, but I am not entirely sure.”

“I don’t understand his mind sometimes. Where does he get these ideas from? Like that one time a long time ago, whenever he thought it’d be brilliant to sneak into a building by dropping an anchor on it with us holding on for dear life. By some magical reason, no one died or even got hurt during it.” Cole tugged on his bangs, explaining further to Lloyd, “It was a hostage situation, there was a snake...who was it? Anacondrai, I wanna say Arcturus, but I  _ know _ it wasn’t him because he was pretty chill. Damn, who was it?”

“Oh! You mean Pythor!”

Cole smacked his hands together and snapped once, ending in a finger gun pointed at Kai. “ _ That’s _ who it was, thank you! I hated him.”

“Who didn’t?” Kai supplied, earning himself an approved nod and look from Cole.

“Anyways, we finally snagged his purple scaly ass and yeah. Stuff happened, he vanished, and we have no idea what happened to him.”

“Whaddya fellas think!” Jay came bounding out, finally dressed. Lloyd wasn’t surprised to see that the primary color of the demon’s outfit was blue with silver trim, sleeves a few inches shorter than Cole’s and pants the same length as Zane’s. The shirt was overlapped like Lloyd’s but then ran straight down his right side. A yellow sash was tied around his hips, a series of elaborate knots keeping it in place at his right hip. Jay had the mask like everyone else, but then Lloyd noticed the hood hanging down between his shoulder blades. Reaching behind himself, Lloyd realized that he had one as well.

“What’s with the windbreaker?” Kai scrutinized, staring at the piece of black, ankle-length clothing Jay had added to his outfit.

“I thought it’d add an extra pizazz, y’know?” Jay’s grin slowly faded. “It...doesn’t look good, does it?”

“The windbreaker itself is nice, but not with that outfit. Contrast of designs and materials, it’s too much. Sorry, Jay,” Cole input in an apologetic voice. Jay’s shoulders fell even more, and he slowly tugged the sleeveless windbreaker off, draping it across the bed opposite the one Cole was lounging on.

“Anyways, let’s go party. I need food.” The windbreaker issue forgotten, Jay strutted out the door, leaving everyone to stare after him for a moment before following him outside.

* * *

The five spent all day wandering the decorated streets of Jamanakai Village, watching jugglers and acrobats, knife swallowers and fire breathers. Paintings and carvings depicting the demon driving away the warriors were being sold alongside carts offering delicious-smelling food that made Lloyd’s mouth begin to water. He asked to stop and try some of the food, and how could any of the demons say no to their starving baby? They bought a variety of foods to try, and settled down in an empty spot next to one of the retaining walls, a fountain nearby.

As Lloyd dug into his food, Kai got up and headed over to where a storyteller was describing to an audience the battle that was waged between the demon wreathed in flames and the warriors made of stone. Kai was amused to hear how the story had evolved from so long ago, and hearing it now made him want to chuckle a little. There hadn’t been as nearly as many enemies as the storyteller claimed there had been; it had only been fifty as opposed to the three hundred warriors that had stormed the tiny settlement, and Kai most certainly had not looked the way he had been described; based on what the storyteller was saying, it sounded like Cole if he doused himself in oil and set himself on fire, wreathed in flames with a body thick and swelling with bulging muscles. But for the storyteller’s sake, Kai remained quiet. He left shortly before the story ended, wandering through the streets and browsing through stalls of merchandise.

Kai returned to where the others were a few small, minor purchases in his hands. Crossing his legs, he settled down on the sun-warmed stone and handed each person the item he’d bought them. He gave a new pair of gloves to Zane, a switchblade to Cole, a bandana to Lloyd, and a silver chain necklace to Jay.

“Why a knife?” Cole flicked the blade out, eyeing the sharpened blade of it. Kai shrugged, stealing a bit of Lloyd’s chicken curry. In between mouthfuls he said, “Because I figured you’d need something else in case you lose your scythe somewhere along the way in a fight. I’m just looking after a brother, is that so wrong?” Cole grunted and then closed the blade, slipping it into the deep pocket of his pants.

Kai finished off the chicken curry and then sat back, resting his weight on his hands as he stretched his legs out in front of him, crossing his ankles. “Anyways, I gotta tell you the version of the fight I overheard a storyteller saying earlier…”

Certains parts made them laugh, and reaching the part of describing the appearance of the fire demon, Kai said, “And I kid you not, the way he described me honestly sounded like he was describing Cole if he’d been set on fire. Apparently, I was shredded as  _ fuck _ and towering over everyone with a hugeass sword in my hand, getting ready to battle three hundred of those fuckers.”

“How many was it actually?” Lloyd asked, sipping his frozen strawberry lemonade from the flame-shaped cup he held.

“Like, maybe fifty at the minimum. No less than that for sure, but definitely not as many as three hundred. Anyways, then he said that I summoned rain of fire and a bunch of other magical shit and did some epic things and crushed each one of them into dust. It was great, actually.” Kai sighed, thinking back to how the battle actually went down. If he focused hard enough, he could still see the bodies of the massacred lying in piles, their blood running through the pipes that carried water from the fountains placed throughout the village. The sky darkened with black smoke, sparks flickering like orange stars before dying a beat later. Wails of the dying, screams of the injured. Red everywhere, from blood, from fire. The acrid stench of burning flesh. A deep rooted desperation to save the few survivors, a need to bring down the warriors crafted of stone and destroy them.

“Hey, I think a parade’s about to start.” Jay’s voice startled Kai out of the past, and he stood up as well as the others. Lloyd asked if he could get a refill on his frozen lemonade, and Zane volunteered to escort Lloyd back to the drink stand.

_ You good? Your energy kinda went a little dark there for a moment, _ Cole said once it was just him, Kai, and Jay. Kai nodded, moistening his lips as he assured them by saying,  _ I’m fine. Those things are gone now, that evil motherfucker’s destroyed, everything’s fine now. We just gotta make sure Lloyd’s safe now; he’s our new top priority. The past is the past, future is the future. _

_ I mean, we can always leave here if you need us to, _ Jay offered, and Kai rolled his eyes with a grin.

_ Seriously, I am fine. You’re talking about the one literally made from bloodsoaked battlefields with this unquenchable thirst for blood and war. Besides, look how much fun Lloyd’s having. Do you really want to ruin that? _ Kai nodded to the returning duo, and the happy and excited look on the kid’s face was just too precious.

_ We’re staying the entire time, aren’t we? _ Cole sighed.

_ How many of us have festivals like this in our honor? Just me? Then hell yes, we are staying the entire time. _ Kai switched to speaking aloud and commented, “I see you got a bigger one,” to Lloyd, noting the increased size of his frozen lemonade.

“The lady said I was the cutest thing she’s ever seen and gave me it because of how cute I am!” He did a happy wiggle, dancing around in a tiny circle, and his demons died on the inside, screaming about how adorable and cute he was and demanding to know what they did to deserve such a cutie patootie like him as their master. Cole actually turned away and slammed a fist against the wall, calmly explaining “Mosquito” to those who gave him odd looks as he yelled down the bond,  _ Who gave the kid permission to be this cute?! I just wanna talk to ‘em! _

The parade headed down their street, music playing as floats depicting different scenes of the fight were marched past them. Lloyd watched with large eyes as he drank his strawberry lemonade, lips never leaving the straw. He was quite sad whenever he had finished his drink so soon, and Kai was wondering if the kid didn’t get freezebrains and how he managed to drink it all as fast as he did.

By the time the parade was done, Lloyd was beginning to complain about a bellyache, and the four demons decided to call it a day, returning to the hotel room for the night.

* * *

The rest of the festival was amazing, and Kai was sad to see it come to an end. On the last day, there was a skit narrated by one of the elder’s daughters and performed by an acrobatic troupe. Him and the others chose a spot relatively close to the front, and the demons laid back as Lloyd leaned forwards, watching the play with undivided attention. Kai did have to give the costume and makeup departments kudos for the elaborate costumes, and he found himself enjoying this version better than the others he had heard throughout the week, mostly because it was the most accurate of them all.

Then began chaos. The earth, once still, gave a violent shudder beneath them. People gasped from the sudden shock of it, buildings trembled, lanterns shivered, then all became quiet and still. For seconds that felt like hours, no one dared to move or speak. Finally, the narrator resumed the story in a shaky voice. She got only a few more sentences before the earth shook again, this time more powerful.

Cole wrapped an arm around Lloyd, pulling him close as the earth demon pressed a hand against the ground, feeling the vibrations to determine if it was by natural or unnatural causes. His eyes widened as he found the source of the tremors, and a horrible fear that Zane’s vision might be correct sank its claws into him.

_ Cole, what’s causing this? _ Jay demanded, growing tense and rigid with each passing second.

_ It’s not natural. It’s something worse causing these. _ Cole looked up at Zane and said,  _ Your vision might be right after all. _ Zane’s eyes clouded, and he bit his lower lip as his eyes closed, head drooping.

_ What vision, damn it, _ Kai hissed, growing angry and restless. Zane began to explain, but then froze whenever Kai let out a strangled sound, back arching and eyes widening as he felt the presence of an enemy from so long ago suddenly resurface.

_ Evacuate the village and get Lloyd out of here. Stay with the people to protect them, but leave the Stone Warriors to me! _ Kai ordered as he grabbed the dragon-shaped hilt. His wings ripped through his shirt as they unfurled from his back, horns curling from his forehead, and he took to the sky, heading for the source of the energy he felt.

From the jagged cracks of the earth emerged the Stone Warriors, covered in thick layers of dust from being dormant for so long. Kai wasted no time in throwing himself towards the first one to stand up, flaming sword melting right through the stone like softened butter.

He decimated whatever warrior dared to challenge him, and soon he was covered in dust, skin bleeding from tiny cuts caused by stone flakes. Eyes blazing, he heard Jay say the village was evacuated and Zane had taken Lloyd to another place. A chill rippled down Kai’s back, and the demon spun around to find himself facing the general of the Stone Army.

“Still alive, I see,” Kai sneered, his voice taking on traces of manical notes as his teeth lengthened into narrow and long fangs. Two more layers of similar teeth slid through his gums behind the first row above and below, a long, thin tongue rolling out of his mouth, the tip forked like a snake’s. His head fell to the right, an eerie giggle coming from him. “ _ How I long for the day when I stand in your stony ruins. _ ”

General Kozu laughed, deep voice a stark contrast to Kai’s high-pitched one. “You underestimate me like always. This time, we will not be stopped.”

Kai giggled again, voice soft like a little girl’s. “ _ Try me. _ ”

* * *

Zane and Lloyd were far away from Jamanakai Village, perched on a tall overhang with a narrow tree on it. The kid stuck close to Zane, anxious to know how everyone else was doing. The ice demon reassured him that Jay and Cole were fine and that Kai was still fighting but okay as well. Lloyd relaxed, relieved to know his demons were doing alright. Below his usual composure of calm and collected, however, Zane was furious.

_ What do you mean Kozu is there and that Kai is fighting him?  _ The ice demon demanded, affected by the unsteady swell of rage pouring into the bond from Kai's end, unable to communicate with him for the time being.  _ It took all four of us to force him underground last time. _

_He's an idiot who thinks he can take on any and all enemies and not think about the implications!_ Cole yelled. There was a sudden surge of power from his side of the bond, and for a moment Zane was wrenched down it to see a massive wall of earth rising up to separate the villagers from Kai and Kozu as the two tumbled down a steep hill. Jay whipping his nunchucks out and sending a pained glance to Cole.

_ Damn him and that hero ego! Damn him! _ Jay snarled, energy spiking like a brewing electrical storm.  _ It's a chain reaction; doesn't he remember that?! _

_ I have Lloyd, and I'm already trying to keep myself calm for his sake! _ Zane hissed, energy throbbing as he struggled to keep himself contained. The temperature around him dropped rapidly, and Lloyd noticed. Concerned, he approached Zane and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Just fine; Kai's being a slight dumbass, that is all," the demon answered in a voice calm and measured as always. He kept his eyelids shut to mask the storm brewing in his eyes, knowing Lloyd would know that not everything was as okay as Zane was telling him it was.

"When is Kai never a dumbass, though?" Lloyd meant it jokingly, but a drop of sweat rolled down Zane's temple as the ice demon gritted his teeth, hissing to himself under his breath, "Yes, when is Kai never a dumbass indeed."

_ Cole, Jay, help Kai drive Kozu off. Clear out any remaining Stone Warriors. And calm his ass down before you three meet up with Lloyd and I. Understood? _ Zane ordered, muscles starting to spasm in his jaw, thighs, and arms. A stifled groan hissed from between clenched teeth, and ice started to spread across the earth, freezing the grass and turning it hard and brittle.

"Zane, what's wrong?" Lloyd squawked in alarm, and he started to the shaking demon's side, but Zane held a hand up, biting out a sharp, "Do not come any closer. Close your eyes, turn around, and do not open them until I say so. Do you understand?"

"But-"

" _ You will do as I say, Lloyd! _ " Zane finally lost control of his voice, and it tore out of his throat in a horrible layered harmony, sounding like out of tune instruments trying to make a decent chord. His eyes flew open, and the glare the demon sent Lloyd paralyzed him, never before seeing Zane's usually blank face so cold and twisted, pulled up into an ugly sneer. The demon added, " _ For your own sake, do it. _ " Lloyd slowly nodded, trembling, and did what the demon commanded him to do. Ensuring that the fledgling's eyes were closed tightly, Zane finally stopped fighting the split happening within his mind, and shifted into his true form.

* * *

Cole’s head felt like someone had crammed rocks into his skull, making it feel heavy and incredibly painful. The tendons in his arms and legs writhed, threatening to rip away from his bones as he struggled against shifting into his true form quite yet. Next to him Jay was on the ground dry heaving, back arching and distressed whines being muffled behind clenched teeth as his body trembled and shook with agony. They could feel the moment when Zane lost control, and it increased their already existing pain, making the struggle of fighting against changing forms that much harder.

Once Jamanakai Village was evacuated, Cole destroyed the earth wall and him and Jay submitted themselves to the suffocating need to shift forms. They charged towards where Kozu and Kai were locked in a fierce tussle, four swords dripping poison versus two blazing swords, as the demons of earth and lightning became by tornadoes that grew and expanded as their bodies lengthened and warped, the colored streaks that surrounded them fading once they were both in their true forms.

Kozu broke away, falling back as the three demons teamed up against him. His eyes darted back and forth between them, knowing it was futile and he was asking to be destroyed if he continued. Against one he could subdue them after a struggle, but against two or more and his odds of even escaping were slim to none.

“ _ Giving up already? Pathetic, _ ” Kai hissed, blood dripping down his face from his eyes gleaming with pure insanity. Cole growled at the smaller demon, a twisted appendage wrapping around the blood-soaked torso to hold him back. Next to him Jay let out a hiss that sounded identical to the rattle of a rattlesnake, shifting restlessly as he poised to strike.

Kozu’s eyes narrowed, and he smirked beneath his helmet. He’d let them think they won for now, but unbeknownst to them a plan had already been formed. He took several more steps back, and Jay let out the same hiss, extending his neck forward with fangs bared while Cole kept a firm grip on Kai, restraining him despite the high-pitched screeches demanding to let him go.

“ _ Go back to the hole you crawled out from, _ ” Jay snarled, voice a guttural and quiet hiss. Kozu pretended to hesitate, then turned and fled, pretending he was scared while reality was he was impatient to return to his master to let him know that the demons had grown substantially stronger. More energy was now needed to combat against them, and only a certain type could be used to restore his master to full strength.  


The smirk on the general’s face grew as he knew exactly who’s energy would be strong enough to do the job. After all, only those with ancient blood could summon the four demons and be their master.

* * *

Lloyd never thought that one day he’d be scared of his demons, but he found himself sitting on frost-covered grass with his eyes closed, terrified of what he might see if he dared to look. All what he had was ragged breathing that sounded like the death rattle of someone who had been sick for a very long time and the eerie way Zane’s voice had sounded whenever he told Lloyd to close his eyes. It was enough to convince Lloyd to do what he was told to immediately, so now he sat and waited for Zane to tell him it was okay to open his eyes once more.

Lloyd didn’t know how long he sat there, waiting like that, but finally-- _ finally _ \--Zane’s breathing began to soften, becoming regular and deep once more. There was a cough, and Zane saying in his normal voice, “You may open your eyes again, Lloyd.” The kid did so slowly, and he cautiously glanced over his shoulder, breathing an internal sigh of relief to see Zane looking normal and human.

“I apologize for my rude behavior earlier; I did not want you to see what I truly look like,” the ice demon said, sounding genuine in his apology. Lloyd shrugged and scooted over so that he was sitting close to Zane, replying as he moved, “I would’ve done the same if I didn’t want my true form to be seen.” He paused, then gently pressed, “Is it that bad to look at?”

Zane nodded solemnly, refusing to explain why. He did, however, say, “The others will be joining us shortly.”

“What forced you to change forms? It wasn’t something of your own choosing, I figured that out pretty easily.”

Zane ran a hand through his hair, staring into the distance. “Changing into our true forms is usually a chain reaction initiated by one of us. Due to the bond we four share, the power of the true form will, in a way, override the entire bond. Since the bond likes balance, it will force the others into their true forms as well to even it out. If there is a... _ power surge _ , I suppose, then it will sometimes allow us to see what the one who caused the surge to see. For example, there was a surge from Cole’s part of the bond, and I could see that he was making an earth barrier to separate the people of Jamanakai Village from Kai.”

“This bond thing you guys have sounds like it’s alive in some way,” Lloyd commented, leaning against Zane’s shoulder with his arms wrapped around his drawn-up knees.

“And in a way, you are not wrong. In a sense, it is our life force; if even one of us dies it can potentially have severe and devastating consequences. Our physical pain can overload it as well, forcing us to feel the afflictions. This bond is both a blessing and a curse.”

“Four bodies, one soul,” Lloyd mused softly. Zane nodded once more, repeating the words.

Silence fell between them as they waited for the others to appear, and once they did, Lloyd sprang to his feet, happy to see only minor injuries. He had just started to bounce over whenever Cole slapped Kai across the cheek, the crack sharp and painful. Everyone froze, then Kai lifted his head, eyes beginning to sparkle dangerously.

“What the  hell  was that for, Cole?” the fire demon demanded, temper flaring to life.

“What the hell was that slap for? How about what the hell were you  _ thinking _ , pulling the shit you did!” Cole snarled as he grabbed Kai by the shirt and pulled them closer until they were hair lengths from touching, Cole towering over Kai by at least four inches.

The earth demon’s teeth were bared as he spat, “You forced us into our true forms by trying to take down Kozu on your own! It took the  _ four _ of us to force him and the Stone Army underground last time, but you must’ve forgotten that because of the stupid party that serves nothing but to further inflate your ego! Zane could have scarred Lloyd for  _ life _ because of you!” Cole’s voice rose to a high-pitched screech.

“We weren’t as strong then as we are now,” Kai sneered viciously, shoving Cole away from him. “I had the situation under control, I was  _ winning _ -”

“That’s what you call that? More like ‘seconds away from getting your ass kicked’ was more like it,” Cole responded with dry and poisoned sarcasm.

“Would you two  _ shut up _ !” Lloyd yelled, furious himself. Kai and Cole glared daggers at each other but held their tongues. Lloyd continued, “Look, I have no idea what is going on between you and this Kozu guy and Stone Army, but obviously there’s some history with that. As for the whole bond thing, Kai”-Lloyd turned to fix the fire demon with an icy look, the coldest any of them had ever seen Lloyd-“you knew I was with Zane, and you knew what would happen if you used your true form. Yet you still did it anyways for what reason.”

Kai opened his mouth to respond but then closed it, failing to come up with an answer. He dropped his gaze to the ground, shame gradually replacing his anger. Although he didn’t want to admit it, Cole was right about how the festival had gone straight to the fire demon’s head, and he’d acted like a peacock showing off his feathers. He didn’t think about the implications, and now he was paying for it.

“For that, Kai, I am forbidding you from using your true form.”

Kai’s head shot up, and Lloyd earned himself not one but four stunned looks. Jay moistened his lips and croaked out, “But, Lloyd, if one-”

“Zane explained how the bond works when dealing with true forms, so to keep the balance, all four of you are forbidden from using your true forms. I’ll revoke it if I absolutely have to, but until then, none of you are allowed to use it. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, master,” a chorus of four voices answered reluctantly as the demons of earth, ice, and lightning glared at Kai, who stared down at the ground, cheeks stained a violent shade of red.

Lloyd then cracked his knuckles and sat down on the ground again. “Now that we’ve gotten that issue out of the way, I need someone to explain who Kozu is and why the Stone Army is such a big deal right now."  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Glimpse of the true forms; isn't that exciting?
> 
> Cute stuff's over for the foreseeable future. It's gonna be getting pretty rough in the next several chapters
> 
> I got really nothing else to say, so have a good day/night, kudo/comment if you want to, and I'll catch y'all next time :)


	8. Invisible Warriors

Cole was still pissed at Kai the next morning whenever they started wandering through the Forest of Tranquility, which is where they flew to the previous night and set up camp. He knew Kai could feel his anger through the bond, and the fire demon avoided Cole at all costs to avoid incurring his elder brother’s wrath even more. Cole did not often get mad, but when he did everyone stayed away until he was back to his normal self.

Jay was explaining to Lloyd the history between the demons and the Stone Army, having decided to wait until everyone had gotten some sleep before beginning the story dating back to shortly after Ninjago was founded. The kid was on Zane’s back, eyes dull from fitful sleep the night before, but he did his best to pay attention to what Jay was saying. Despite his tiredness, he was intrigued by what Jay was saying, and was wondering why this was never included in any of the history books he’d read.

Cole shifted the two backpacks he was carrying, one his own and the other Zane’s. One carried food, the other contained medicine and healing supplies, mostly intended for Lloyd in case he got hurt. He clawed his bangs away from his forehead, feeling sweat drip down his forehead and temples. Even though they were mostly in shade, the humidity of the Forest of Tranquility grew as the day lengthened, and the damp combined with how much they were sweating made them uncomfortable. Even Kai, who immune to heat, seemed to be suffering a little.

They stopped for a break next to a stream of clear water, deciding to wait out the rest of the hotter hours before continuing on to a location still undetermined. Lloyd passed out, leaning against Jay’s shoulder as the lightning demon reclined back against a tree.

_ So, now what do we do? Do we have any idea as to where we’re going? _ Jay asked as he pulled the kid back as he threatened to pitch forwards. Cole shrugged, out of ideas, and Zane had nothing to offer. Meanwhile, Kai paced around, looking agitated. His hand kept going to his right hip, where his elemental blade hilt was, wrapping his fingers around it and squeezing tightly before releasing it. Jay then asked Kai,  _ What’s up with you, antsy pants? Still not mad at Cole, are you? _

Kai snorted.  _ If only it was that. No, I’m sensing Stone Warriors. They’re all too far away, so we’re fine, it’s just it’s so...overwhelming. _ His hand went back to his hip once more, and he began chewing on his lower lip.  _ It just keeps growing and getting bigger. And there’s something else mixed with it, something I’m not familiar with. _

_ Describe it, if you will, _ Zane requested.

_ It’s...like Jay, but not… _ Kai stopped, unable to fully describe the new energy he was picking up on.  _ It’s hazy and electrical but not as strong as Jay’s energy but it reminds me vaguely of it. I don’t know, I’m doing the best I can. _

_ What you’re saying is that not only do we have to worry about the Stone Army again, but also a new enemy at the same time? _ Kai nodded, answering Cole’s question. The earth demon groaned and ran a hand up his face, pushing his bangs back for a moment as he looked up into the trees, a deep exhale coming from him.

_ And we still have the Serpentine to worry about. This makes three enemies we could possibly end up fighting at the same time, two we are familiar with and one a stranger. This gives me great concern. _

_ Why do you say that, Zane? _ Kai’s energy dropped from ansty and worried to tired and worried.

_ Like I just said, we could be attacked by all three at the same time. My main concern is Lloyd; the only way to have a chance of beating the Stone Army is to be in our true forms, which he forbid last night- _

_ Thanks, Kai, _ Cole mumbled. Kai flipped him a middle finger in response.

_ -but it will be too dangerous for him to be with us during the fighting, _ Zane continued as if the interruption had never happened.  _ That means to get him away, one of us will have to shadow-travel him away and then return, but at the cost of an enormous amount of energy. _

_ That doesn’t do anything about the true forms, though, _ Jay pointed out.

_ How about whoever travels by shadow with him will create a power surge big enough to drag the other three down into his side of the bond, then Lloyd revokes it so that we all hear it, then whoever took him away comes back and boom, we all have our true forms again. Would that work? _ Kai suggested, fingers trailing along the dragon head-shaped hilt.  _ I mean, what’s the worst that can happen, we don’t get our true forms back and we’re forced to fight without them? _

The other three thought about it. Zane slowly answered,  _ I suppose it would not hurt to try it. _

_ Is that the plan, then? In case it does happen and we need to get Lloyd away but we need our true forms as well? _ Cole summarized as he sat on top of a flat boulder, backpacks on the ground and leaning against the side. Confirmation from Zane, Kai, and Jay rose throughout the bond, agreeing to the plan. If it would work, they didn’t know until they were attacked, but it felt nice regardless to know that there was a course of action in place.

The sun slowly dipped into the west, the Forest of Tranquility finally cooling down to more manageable temperatures. Jay helped to sling a still-sleeping Lloyd onto Zane’s back once more, careful not to disturb the kid, then the pack of magical beings started to walk once more, deciding to head south.

_ Kai, chill. You said so yourself, the Stone Army is far away, and so is that new thing you sensed. Stop being so tense; you’re making me nervous, _ Jay said after some time of walking.

_ Sorry, it’s just how overpowering the energy is, _ Kai apologized as he summoned a ball of fire in his hand, taking over to lead the group, the fire he held lighting their way through the forest.  _ Knowing they’re out there and could attack us at any moment just… _ He shook his head.  _ I don’t like it. It makes me uneasy, because every shift I feel makes me wonder how clo- _ The fire in his hand died and he grabbed his elemental blade hilt, hair standing up on the back of his neck as a wave of nausea hit him.

_ No one move or breathe, _ Kai hissed, tension making his body lock up.  _ It’s the new energy from earlier, the one I can’t identify what it is. _

The four demons held themselves still, resembling statues. They were all praying for Lloyd to not wake up at that moment, to continue sleeping on Zane’s back unaware of what was happening. The demons of earth, ice, and lightning kept their thoughts as quiet as they could, letting Kai focus on pinpointing the exact locations of their new enemies.

_ I...I don’t get it. They should be here. We should be seeing them, _ Kai mumbled, energy starting to rise in panic, not understanding what was happening. He clearly felt them, so close it was like they were…

_ Kai, what’s wrong? _ Cole demanded whenever he felt the fire demon’s energy suddenly flatline for a moment, a sign of a horrible and very sudden realization.

_ They’re invisible! We’re entirely surrounded, so be care- _ Kai lunged to the side, throwing himself behind Zane to protect Lloyd while calling up an orb of thin flames to surround all of them. There was a shower of sparks as an unseen weapon hit the shield, and Kai’s eyes widened as he realized just how close he was to getting his arm cut off. The sound woke Lloyd up, and he started to slur, “What’s hap-”

“Get ready to shadow-travel,” Cole interrupted, eyes narrowing even though he couldn’t see or sense their new enemies.

_ Excuse me! _ Jay squawked, but Kai interrupted, saying at a pace so fast that he would’ve tripped over his own tongue several times if he was saying it aloud,  _ No, Cole’s right. You three shadow-travel Lloyd out of here. I know where these invisible bastards are, you don’t, I have a better chance of surviving. Ignacia’s not far, should be safe enough to lay low for at least a little while. I’ll catch up with you guys when I’m done. _ He extended the shield to a nearby rock, the light casting enough of a shadow on the earth to use, and the others vanished into the darkness. A sudden distance developed between Kai and his brothers, thirty-eight miles away, and Kai knew that the area was clear. He sent them a message confirming it, then lowered the shield.

The invisible warriors descended upon him like a pack of wolves, and it was only because of his ability to sense where they were did he have even a marginal chance of winning. He pulled his other sword out, fighting with both blades. He tried his best to fight them, but his special power failed to tell him what moves his enemies were performing, and he found himself with his back pressed into a tree, one eye swollen shut and a deep gash on his cheek bleeding freely. His right leg was useless, the femoral head of his hip pushed backwards out of its socket and causing his leg to be rotated inwards, the injury caused by being thrown against a rock with the right amount of force to dislocate it.

_ Kai, get over here now! You’re too hurt to continue fighting!  _ Cole yelled, voice faint as it reflected the distance between them. Kai shook his head as he spread his wings and took to the sky, figuring his opponents couldn’t fly. He found himself staring into the burning red gaze of a humanoid figure dressed in primarily black with a hood pulled over its face, metal wrapped around it. More metal covered the left side of its torso, and that’s when Kai realized that he was fighting robots who could turn invisible as well as fly.

The fire demon squawked as lasers shot from the robot’s right eye, then yelped in pain as one of the lasers grazed the top of his ear. He soon found himself surrounded by the flying robots, and he struggled to fend them off. He became overwhelmed by them in seconds, and Zane screeched for him to retreat and join them, but Kai kept fighting, not because of his choosing but because he was so crowded by the robots. He finally saw an opening and took it, folding his wings in and letting himself plummet through the air. He flipped himself around so that his back was aimed towards the earth, continuing to fight. He grappled with one robot and took its sword, stabbing it right through its torso. He then threw the body off to the side and flipped himself around once more, eyes fixed on a shadow. A sudden surge of energy ran through him, an energy as steady and powerful as the earth. Kai wanted to sob as Cole supplied him energy through the bond, giving the fire demon enough energy to shadow-travel safely. He hit the shadow and was absorbed by it. Three seconds later he was dropping out of the ceiling of an old blacksmith shop and face-planting into Cole’s chest, his useless leg buckling under him as he gripped his fingers onto whatever came into contact first.

“Easy there,” the earth demon murmured as Kai began to cry hysterically, tears flowing down his face. The sword he’d taken from the robot fell out of his hand, and he buried himself into the taller demon’s arms, sobs muffled as he pressed his face into his older brother’s chest.

Cole gently lay Kai on the ground, Zane immediately heading over. He gave Kai a clean bundle of socks to bite into before grasping the leg that had been dislocated. He moved it around a few times before finally aligning it. Hands gripping the back of Kai’s knee, Zane gave a hard yank, pulling the dislocated hip forwards and back into its place in Kai’s pelvis. The fire demon bit into the socks, muffling his scream before dissolving into tears once more, fingers digging tightly into Cole’s wrist.

As Zane went to patching Kai up with Cole assisting, Jay and Lloyd sat back against the wall, watching the scene. Lloyd, sick with worry about Kai, turned to Jay and whispered, “He’s gonna be okay, isn’t he?”

“He’s not going to be walking for at least two days, but he’ll be fine. We heal at insane rates, so he’ll be okay. Zane knows what he’s doing,” the lightning demon answered in a voice just as soft, arm wrapped around the kid. Lloyd nodded, feeling a little better at what Jay said.

Zane finished the last stitch and tied a knot before applying a bandage over it. He then summoned a small piece of ice and wrapped it in a rag, holding it against Kai’s swollen eye. He smiled weakly at Zane, who ran a hand through the matted spikes. Kai leaned into the touch, croaking out, “I think I understand that new energy, now.”

“You need to rest,” Zane argued in a soft voice, but Kai shook his head.

“No, you guys need to hear this. It...will change what we do from now on, if what I’m saying is correct.”

“I’m listening. Go ahead, Kai,” Lloyd said, and Kai blinked once at the kid in acknowledgment. He cleared his throat and began explaining.

“I don’t know how, I don’t know why, but I think...I think the Overlord’s come back. The Stone Army suddenly attacking when they’ve been dormant for how long, these robots showing up from the same areas that are populated by Stone Warriors with swords that are  _ identical _ to the ones they use. Don’t tell me it’s a coincidence, because it’s not. The Overlord is back, and...” Kai took a breath and swallowed. “And I think he’s after us. How else do you explain an ambush when we were in the middle of the Forest of Tranquility? These robots, they...they must have some kind of sensor that can pick up on energies like ours, which is how they found us so fast.”

“But, Kai, we were there when the Overlord was destroyed. Hell, we even  _ helped _ end him,” Cole objected, but Kai brushed it off, arguing, “We helped, but we didn’t actually  _ do _ it. We didn’t even  _ see _ it happen.”

“I’m still stuck on the robots. If they do have these sensors, then no matter where we go, they’ll find us,” Jay breathed.

“Exactly, Jay. It doesn’t matter where we hide or how far we run, we will always be trying to get away from them. They will follow us until they catch us, then who knows what will happen to us. The Overlord is back, and we’re at the top of his bounty hunter’s list. We can’t do shit except try to run and hide and fight. And earlier today, I could feel them in the same area as the Stone Warriors, but then they just suddenly appeared right there next to us. I didn’t sense them move at all, which means they can somehow hide their energy from me.” Kai buried both hands in his hair. “I can’t even do the one thing I’m good at, so I guess this means we’re fucked. So utterly fucked.”

“It could just be a lot of bad timing,” Lloyd tried to offer, but Zane shook his head.

“No, Kai is right. I had a vision, and in it I saw the Overlord. Then last night at the festival, with the Stone Warriors, it confirmed it,” he said softly. He nodded towards the sword lying abandoned on the floor. “That is indeed a Stone Warrior weapon. These robots are apart of the Overlord’s army. He will no doubt want vengeance against us, so he created them to search for us.”

“What will happen to Lloyd, though?” Cole voiced the question everyone was thinking that no one wanted to say. “He’ll be hunted alongside us as well. The moment we leave him alone is when he’ll be killed.”

Lloyd looked up, mismatched eyes shining with fear and anxiety. “I don’t wanna die,” he choked in a small voice, burying himself closer against Jay.

“We won’t let you. We’ll die before we let them touch you,” the lightning demon answered, slinging a protective arm around the kid's narrow shoulders. “But Cole’s right, so what are we gonna do to avoid that from happening? We can’t just always be shadow-traveling; we’ll use too much energy too fast, then we won’t be able to defend ourselves or Lloyd. Flying him away will take too much time, and if the sensor theory is correct, then no matter who takes him the robots will always find him.” Jay sighed and leaned his head back against the wall. “This is  _ bullshit _ , and I hate it. I hate it so much, because the only options we have is just to keep him with us when we’re fighting, but what if we have to use our true forms? What then? We traumatize the kid for life? No thanks, I don’t wanna do that.”

“But what other option do we have, Jay?” Cole sighed, tugging at his bangs.

“I could be with Nya while this whole issue goes on,” Lloyd suggested softly. “She’s a hunter, she can kick ass, I’ll be fine with her.”

“That brings up another problem: The source of all this Stone Warrior-robot energy is coming from Ninjago City. The moment we show up even a few miles outside of it, we’ll be catching the Overlord’s attention and that’s the exact opposite of what we want. If she lived in a different area, then maybe, but unfortunately we can’t do that. Good idea anyways, Lloyd.” Lloyd’s shoulders sank as he realized Kai was right.

“Is there anywhere in Ninjago that  _ doesn’t _ have any negative energy?” Jay pressed.

“Basically anywhere where there’s snow and ice. Frozen Wastelands, Birchwood Forest, those areas are all untainted. The areas we should avoid at all costs are Ninjago City, Jamanakai Village, and basically anywhere in the central area of Ninjago. Other than that, we should be pretty clear to go anywhere else.”

It was quiet as everyone thought of a place to hide out and take refuge in, and then Lloyd moistened his lips. “What if...we went to Hiroshi’s Labyrinth?”

The four demons stared at him, then Kai slowly nodded. “It’s clear. There’s literally nothing there. It would mess with the robots’ sensors, and with a camouflage spell to disguise ourselves, we’d be fine. I say we do it.”


	9. Hiroshi's Labyrinth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a few days late, so sorry about that, but things got hectic and yeah :/

They hid out in the abandoned blacksmith shop until Kai had fully recovered, nearly three days later. Once he was able to walk around with no problem, they packed up and headed to Hiroshi’s Labyrinth, traveling at a pace that was moderately fast but not fast enough that it would draw unwanted attention. They kept their heads down, avoiding people at all costs, and they paid careful attention to Kai, who would mumble location updates every now and then. Cole kept a camouflage spell up, masking their tracks and giving off the illusion they were normal humans instead of four demons and a fledgling wizard. It must’ve been enough to keep the robots off their trail, because they finally reached the beginning of the labyrinth.

 

Lloyd had seen pictures of it, but the photos didn’t do the scenery any justice whatsoever. It was thick and luscious, overflowing with bright vegetation. The smell of blooming flowers drenched the air with the smell of sweet nectar and delicate blossoms, and it almost gave Lloyd a headache from how strong the smell was, the heat intensifying it and saturating the air even further.

 

“Yeah, they won’t be able to find us in here at all,” Jay said, blue eyes scanning around the cheery-looking forest. “We could dig an underground network of tunnels and just live here for the rest of our lives.”

 

“I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or serious, but I’m hoping you’re serious because I would love to live underground.” Cole shifted the backpacks slung across his shoulders. "Shall we?” The company nodded, then started into the forest, following the narrow and winding paths deeper into the labyrinth.

 

_ Kai, any updates on movement from the Stone Army or the robots? _ Zane asked as he stepped over a fallen log, turning to watch Lloyd scramble across it, his jacket picking up a few pieces of bark and leaves that had caught onto the soft cotton material.

 

_ Not heading towards our direction. Cole’s camouflage spell is really keeping them off us, _ the fire demon answered.  _ As soon as we find an area to make into a camp, we should draw out a perimeter and set alarms, just for extra safety. We can at least get a headstart on escaping if we are discovered that way. _

 

_ Any advice on dealing with the robots? _ Jay inquired, raking his short bangs away from his sweaty forehead.

 

_ They move fast, and I’m talking fast like you, Jay. They can fly and shoot lasers from their right eye, so keep that in mind when fighting them. The hardest part is when they’re invisible, because then you don’t know what to prepare yourself for.  The invisibility part’s a bitch, I’ll tell you that, _ Kai answered, hefting the backpack he had up a little further on his back.  _ They move fast and strike hard, so keep your guard up even more than what you usually do. I would even go as far as to say be defensive unless you can see them. _

 

_ This just keeps getting better and better, _ Cole grumbled.  _ Don’t get me wrong, I love the kid, but why did he have to summon us now? Why did it have to be now? _

 

_ Perhaps a better question would be ‘why did the Overlord choose to resurrect himself at this current moment?’  _ Zane offered, reaching out to grab the back of Lloyd’s jacket as he tripped over a piece of root he didn’t see sticking up out of the ground, stabilizing the kid for a few steps.  _ If we are still talking about coincidental timing, then I don’t think this was coincidental at all. Think about the past few months and everything that has happened. _

 

_ You don’t think… _ Jay stopped his sentence, no need to go on as Zane slowly nodded, understanding what the lightning demon was getting at.

 

_ It could very well be. But for now, let’s keep this to ourselves, just to avoid unnecessary alarm. _

* * *

“How much farther are we gonna go?” Lloyd panted, face red and shiny from the sweat that dripped down his face. He’d taken his jacket off and had tied the sleeves around his hips, but he was still hot. His shirt was sticking to the skin of his back, a large dark spot clear against the green. Cole, who was leading the trek through the thick forest, turned his head to look at the kid from over his shoulder.

 

“Do you need a break?” the earth demon asked, to which Lloyd nodded furiously. His legs felt like jelly, and he was getting hangry; they had been traveling all day with barely any stops, and he was tired. His skin was hot and felt disgusting with old and new sweat mixing with flecks of dirt and bark that he’d picked up along the way.

 

The party chose to stop in a small clearing, and Lloyd collapsed upon the earth, spread eagle as he closed his eyes, feeling a deep desire to nap. The sun was almost uncomfortably warm against his face, and he threw an arm over his eyes, shielding them. He knew was just increasing the level of how filthy he was by doing what he was, but he didn’t care; he was just that tired to give much of a shit.

 

He slowly blinked his eyes open, eyelashes catching in long strands of coarse, black hair. His arms were looped over a set of shoulders, a slight warmth being absorbed into his chest. A scent like pine trees on a hot summer’s day filled his nose, delicate compared to the intense metallic smell of Kai.

 

"Hey, kiddo. Have a good nap?" Cole turned his head to glance at the fledgling, who was setting his chin on top of the shoulder in front of him. Lloyd nodded, sleepily nuzzling into the side of Cole’s neck and closing his eyes, wanting to go back to sleep.

 

“Where are we now?” the kid mumbled, adjusting his arms around Cole’s shoulders. The earth demon shrugged before hoisting Lloyd up further on his back, replying, “Somewhere still in Hiroshi’s Labyrinth. Can’t say where for sure exactly, however. I just hope we’re getting close to the jewel of the maze.”

 

“Is that where we’re gonna be for a little while?” Lloyd yawned, plopping his chin back onto Cole’s shoulder.

 

“As long as we can make it last. We’ll need it so we can continue training you, which will be even more crucial now. It’s a good thing Zane had the idea to get as many spellbooks as he did,” Jay input, shifting his backpack. “But why do wizards insist on having such bigass books? My back is gonna break.”

 

Lloyd lifted his chin from Cole’s shoulder. “But I thought you guys weren’t allowing me to use magic until all of my energy had returned. Why the change?”

 

“Because we have a third enemy now, and we’re not always going to be able to reach you in time. You have a decent foundation on fighting now, and combine that with your magic, you’ll be a terror on the battlefield. You can stand your own long enough for us to reach you. With Hiroshi’s Labyrinth the way it is and Cole’s camouflage spell masking us even further, we’re gonna have to try really hard to get the Overlord and his minions’ attention. Of course, that’s actually not saying a lot from our viewpoint, but for you to be detected, you’d have to double the amount of energy you used to summon us.”

 

“Is this fact or is this theory?” Lloyd inquired.

 

“Um...theory.” Kai then sent a look to Jay, who must’ve made a comment across the bond.

 

Lloyd sank back down onto Cole’s shoulder, idly batting at the half-bun the earth demon had done. If it annoyed Cole, he didn’t know, as the demon made no comment about it. Not even a sigh betrayed how he felt about it, and so Lloyd continued to play with the bun, his only toy at the moment. He pulled a stray leaf from it and tossed it behind him before continuing to poke and swipe at it, watching the bun move with eyes fixed solely on it and nothing else. As a result of his obliviousness, he didn’t notice the soft looks he was given by the three other demons.

 

The sun began to set, casting a dappled, flaming glow throughout the incredibly dense forest. But fortunately for them, they had reached the jewel of the maze. It was a gorgeous oasis, a small waterfall spilling the clearest water Lloyd had ever seen into a pool that shimmered invitingly. He tapped Cole on the shoulder and said that he wanted down, and Cole complied, bending his knees enough to let the kid hop off. Lloyd dashed to the pool and crouched down close to the edge, staring into it with large eyes.

 

It looked shallow, and he dropped a tiny pebble into it. He expected it to sink ten feet but was surprised to watch it sink deeper, disappearing into the clear depths. The bottom glimmered with colorful stones, reflecting the burning color of the dying sun and painting the water a vibrant red.

 

"That's deep," Lloyd announced, standing up and turning to face his demons. "But now what do we do?"

 

Cole cracked his knuckles, eyes gleaming with a light that Lloyd wasn't sure if he needed to worry about or not. "Now," the earth demon began dramatically, "we build our new hideout."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter comparatively to the previous chapters, but ah well. I do, however, promise to upload the next chapter on the fifteenth, so yeah. Till then, have a good day/night, have a good week, and I'll see you next time


End file.
